♦ Seating Map
Regarded as one of the nation's best soccer facilities at any level, Harry A. Merlo Field was constructed in 1990. It has been the site of numerous NCAA playoff games and international matches featuring the U.S. Women's National Team, Brazil, England and Ukraine. Several national, Olympic, MLS and NWSL teams have trained on the plush Merlo pitch when traveling through the region.
The Merlo Field press box contains 40 spaces for working press. It has complete transmission capabilities for print and broadcast media and includes restroom facilities. A platform on the press box roof provides an ideal vantage point for still and video camera operators.
One of Merlo Field's claims to fame came in 1994 when it hosted the NCAA Women's Soccer Final Four. It marked the first time that the national semifinals and final were held at a predetermined site. With a national television audience looking on, the Pilots were joined by Connecticut, North Carolina, and Notre Dame in playing the first women's Final Four on the West Coast.
Merlo Field's 4,892-seat capacity was stretched to the limit and then some when 5,596 fans, then the largest crowd in United States women's soccer history, turned out for a 1992 game between Portland and North Carolina.
The addition of lights prior to the 2004 season allowed night games to be played at Merlo Field and attendance has soared during Friday night matches. During the women's magical 2005 championship season, Portland set a new NCAA attendance record for both men's and women's soccer by bringing in 40,841 fans to 12 home women's matches.
In 2012, the Pilots led the nation in average attendance (3,313) for the eighth consecutive season and they topped the 40,000-fan plateau for the fifth time, which is the most times in NCAA history. UP owns the NCAA record for attendance in a season when 47,082 fans attended Portland women's soccer games in 2008.
The Pilot men have consistently brought in some of the biggest men's soccer crowds in the country. The Pilots have ranked in the top 15 in home attendance in 11 of the past 13 years, including the nation's top attendance in 1996 when they averaged 2,554 fans per game.
BENEFACTORS
Harry A. Merlo, Earle M. Chiles, Patrick and Jo Becker, Maurie and Mary Clark, John and Jane Emrick, Silvio and Mary Garaventa Sr, Tom and Laurie Hacking, Ted and Boni Halton, Joseph and Judith Hanna, Allan T.J. and Lois McInnis, Robert and Marilyn Pamplin, George and Susan Swindells, Anthony and Helen Urbanek.
MERLO FIELD FACTS
• Location: Merlo Field is located at the corner of Willamette Blvd. and Portsmouth St. on the University of Portland campus in North Portland.
• Seating capacity: 4,892.
• Dimensions: 75 by 120 yards.
• Surface: Natural grass (80% rye grass/ 20% Kentucky Bluegrass).
• Direction: East and West.
• Cost: $1.2 million.
• Design: W.E. GROUP/ Architects and Planners, Portland, Ore.
• General Contractor: Brockcamp and Jaeger, Inc., Portland, Ore.
• Consultant (engineering and design): Don Hogan and Associates, Seattle, Wash.
MERLO FIELD LIGHTS
• Area of Lighting: There are six light poles on the field, with a total of 75, 1,500-watt bulbs.
• Pole Count: Six poles, three behind each sideline.
• Light Fixtures: Designed to contain ambient light inside the facility.
• Custom Reflector System: Provides the necessary level of spill light and glare control for individual sites on and adjacent to the playing field. Minimizes upward spill light while continuing to produce enough light to follow the flight of the ball.
• Mounting Height: 73 feet.
• Cost: $223,000
• Manufacturer & Design: MUCSCO Lighting, Inc., Wilsonville, Ore.
• General Contractor: Zink Commercial, Vancouver, Wash.
• Consultant (structural): R.L. Foley and Associates, Lake Forest, Calif.
