When a University wants to update its recreational facilities, it needs an action plan. With this goal, the University of Oregon retained The Sports Management Group to survey the University's existing inventory of physical education, recreation, and intramural activity spaces and to assess the programmatic need for new facilities. The scope of the study grew to include a detailed comparison with facilities at five peer institutions, a survey of alternative sites for new construction, and a program statement for outdoor play fields. In a subsequent strategic phase, the architects and The Sports Management Group gathered responses in a series of committee workshops, prepared conceptual design studies, and explored alternatives to the program first outlined.

The Sports Management Group challenged the University to address its current activity space deficiencies by undertaking significant renovation, expansion, and partial adaptive reuse of the historically significant Esslinger Hall. Related projects proposed in the initial study included other modifications to existing buildings and improvements to the University's outdoor play fields.