UO Women's Beach Volleyball Facilities in the Register-Guard
New sports facility under construction at University of Oregon
By Hannarose McGuinness
June 12, 2026
A facility for the sandiest sport played at the University of Oregon is under construction.
UO’s beach volleyball team will have a facility to call home late this September, when construction of the beach volleyball complex is slated to be completed.
The facility is located at 1695 E. 15th Ave. by the Jaqua Academic Center, the Ford Alumni Center, Unthank Hall and the University Health Services Building.
Project documents indicate the complex occupies 1.5 acres of a new 3.5-acre green space on the UO campus.
The new facility will include three NCAA competition courts, a restroom, a storage building to serve the beach volleyball team and a scoreboard.
The complex won’t have any sports lighting, is not intended for use at night and will be open to the public when not in use by the team.
Name chosen for new beach volleyball court
The UO Board of Trustees met on June 1 to discuss the complex. The facility name, Duck Dunes, was presented and voted on in the June 2 meeting.
The name pays homage to the significant amount of sand coming to the facility from the dunes in Florence, according to Joe Buck, vice president of advancement at UO.
The complex is intended to host university-level matches, tournaments and practices in the open-air athletic venue designed to “rival any other NCAA beach volleyball facility in the nation,” according to the project’s application materials submitted to the City of Eugene.
After the Hamilton Hall dormitory was demolished in 2025, the site became an open area available for the volleyball complex and adjacent green space.
Lack of facilities prompts federal lawsuit
Development of the beach volleyball complex hasn’t come without controversy. In 2023, 32 former UO beach volleyball team members filed a lawsuit against the university in the Oregon U.S. District Court citing Title IX violations, according to reporting from The Register-Guard. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit also include current or former members of the women’s club rowing team at UO.
The complaint said the programs lacked scholarship offerings, funding and a campus facility for practices and home games.
Jimmy Stanton, senior associate athletics director, said the beach volleyball team has practiced at courts at Grace Christian Fellowship for the past two years.
The beach volleyball team got its own locker rooms in 2025, when vacated coaches’ offices and meeting space in Matthew Knight Arena were remodeled and expanded to fit an entry area, lockers and restrooms for team use.
The lawsuit is still in court.
Stanton said the facility is the “next step in reflecting the positive momentum” the beach volleyball program has built.
“This spring marked the most successful season in program history under first-year head coach Kristian Kuld, and the new courts will provide our student-athletes with a first-class environment for competition and year-round training,” Stanton said. “This project represents a tremendous investment in Oregon beach volleyball student-athletes, and we’re grateful to all those whose support made it possible.”
