EUGENE — A $227 million basketball arena, set to open in two years, is the construction project getting most of the attention at the University of Oregon. But another project set to break ground will affect a greater number of students.

The university is upgrading the physical plant — the operation that provides heating, cooling and part of the electricity to almost every building on campus. Officials say the project will boost the capacity of the campus utility system while shrinking the school’s carbon footprint, a measure of greenhouse gases produced by human activity.

It will provide more steam and electricity at less cost and greater efficiency.

The first part of project — construction of a new chiller plant — is expected to begin in early December and be completed in about a year. The $34 million facility will supply the chilled water that provides air conditioning to the campus.

The project also includes improvements to building electrical systems and a new electricity substation.

The second phase of the project, which still needs funding, would replace 1950s-era boilers originally heated by sawdust left over from lumber production. The plant eventually switched to natural gas, but the aging system doesn’t operate with the efficiency of modern equipment.

“Everything now focuses on efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint,” said George Hecht, director of campus operations. “We shouldn’t be using an old, inefficient boiler system.”

Sustainability, however, isn’t the sole reason for replacing the chillers and boilers. The UO campus is a much more high-tech environment than it was a half-century ago, and the equipment that comprises the backbone of research programs demands reliable energy. The science and computer facilities on campus now must be kept powered and cooled without failure, or lifetimes of research could be lost, Hecht said.

Initial design work on the second phase has not been completed, but the cost could top $50 million. With a total cost of more than $80 million, upgrading the physical plant would be the third-most expensive project in UO history, trailing the new basketball arena and the expansion of the football stadium.