Autzen II all it's quacked up to be.

Byline: Bob Welch / The Register-Guard

IN THE AFTERMATH of Saturday's expanded-Autzen Stadium debut, I offer my first impressions of Old vs. New: (In honor of the Ducks' 12-game season, 12 categories - with the New Stadium's win-loss record listed after each).

Accessibility: Tunnels you could drive a Hummer through. Nice, gradually sloped ramps. Wider aisles. Three Disneylandlike trams for those who need help. Other than eight oddly placed aluminum bleachers that offer scant room to get past, great improvements. And the best news? Fans are still allowed on the field after the game. (New Autzen's record: 1-0)

Aesthetics: The 16,000 genista and euonymous plants on the north berm are a huge improvement over the tattered ivy and fill-in grass of years past. And what a great idea to put shrubbery at the base of the new south stands. It's the closest thing we have to Wrigley Field's ivy. (2-0)

Ambiance: The Old Autzen's symmetry had a certain visual and psychological assurance to it, a yin and yang between sidelines and end zone, between four-figure donors and Bi-Mart half-off folks. Now, the neighborhood has changed. But whatever it's lost in a sense of oneness, it's gained in sheer grandeur. The new stands, particularly from field level, give Autzen that big-time "canyon" feel. It's a bolder, more dramatic stadium that's maintained the tradition of the past. (3-0)

Duck Vision: It had to happen sooner or later, but I missed not seeing the Kenny Wheaton interception return in its entirety. It's probably just a sign that the UO is trying to wean itself from the past and concentrate on the future. But it's like Armstrong first walking on the moon - I wanna see it from the ladder to the first step. (3-1)

Fan accessories: The New Autzen has three "Duck Shop" venues within the stadium. And folks in the Moshofsky Center were taking orders for the latest item, custom Nike UO shoes that - for a mere $116.99 - come with your choice of three pro-Oregon heel-slogans. (4-1)

Food: Twenty-one new concession stands. Gobs of new food items. Goodness, Autzen food guru Eric Brandt is running an offense so complicated it makes Bellotti's look like Turkey Bowl stuff. But the food I tested was impressive, particularly my chicken barbecue sandwich at Coach Bellotti's Bar-B-Que. (5-1)

Noise: From the press box, I thought it sounded way loud - the roof probably had something to do with that; it contains the sound. As I circled the stadium, though, the noise level seemed far less impressive. And of the dozen folks I asked, only one thought the noise level was louder than Autzen I. But, remember, this was a nonconference yawner in energy-sapping heat. Ask me again on a cold November day when the Huskies have it third-and-three. (5-1-1)

Press box: The only complaint I heard from the press was a lack of elevators for on-deadline getaways; some wound up huffing down, then back up, stairs after grabbing locker room quotes. Otherwise, people seemed to like the roomier digs and fewer obstructed views. And, hey, where else can you listen to play-by-play while in the bathroom? (6-1-1)

Restrooms: Ellerbe Beckett's architects have brought about something 30 years of Title IX could not: potty parody. In year's past, the women's lines stretched roughly from the stadium's south rim to the Autzen footbridge. Men's lines were short. Now, with far more female "fixtures" (as the architects call them), women need not panic when inspired by that "Go Ducks!" chant. At halftime, I saw few lines - and all were men. (7-1-1)

Signage: To its credit, the UO hasn't slapped advertising on every available spot. But I'm not sold on the art work on the conference-championship signs along the inner wall; it looks frenetic and unfinished. And, as expected, the bold "Fighting Duck" images are gone, though four Nike swooshes made the wall. Hmmm. (7-2-1)

Turf: Last year's new artificial field looked sickly, the yard-lines appearing as if last-painted in leather-helmet days. The new FieldTurf is grasslike in appearance, the lines bold, the "Oregon" in the end zones - though a tad too gold for my taste - actually visible. Who could ask for anything more - unless it was real grass? (8-2-1)

Views: Some have complained about views obstructed by rails - and I suppose I'd complain, too, if they were my seats. Given legal mandates, it's virtually impossible to build a stadium without a few bummer seats. But, generally, the New Autzen has continued the not-a-bad-seat-in-the-house tradition of Autzen I. (9-2-1)

Final analysis: Despite a few flaws, Autzen II is everything it was quacked up to be. And, as for the noise, the stadium won't break that tie. Fans will.

Bob Welch can be reached by calling 338-2354 or by e-mail at [e-mail].