Ironically, I suspect that that if the US Championships were held in London, there would be more people in the stands than in Eugene.
The Sports Examiner has put the attendance in context and said it was a normal crowd in Eugene.
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Bagels wrote:
IowaTrackFan wrote:
Heaven forbid we hold this meet at Drake because of all the empty seats on TV, and then Hayward looked like it did this weekend.
Sorry I don’t care where you have it. Track doesn’t fill stadiums unless it’s part of the Olympics.
That's probably true but by having it in eugene you are guaranteeing most everybody wont want to travel. Flying into portland renting a car...I guess they hope for a super great regional crowd.
Drake is easy peasy. A few hours from everywhere. Next, charge almost nothing for tix, better to fill er up than charge more and be empty. This whole thing was almost happening at the same time as USATF Junior Olympics! Have them both at Drake, then thousands of athletes and their parents can decide whether to stick around. When JO was here I think the number was 30K people in town for JO.
21 -
furner wrote:
Ironically, I suspect that that if the US Championships were held in London, there would be more people in the stands than in Eugene.
USA's should be held wherever World's will take place - and they should never return to Eugene.
38 -
el qidero wrote:
furner wrote:
Ironically, I suspect that that if the US Championships were held in London, there would be more people in the stands than in Eugene.
USA's should be held wherever World's will take place - and they should never return to Eugene.
After an absence, I came back here for a thread on this topic.
The pathetic excuses notwithstanding, the real reason for the empty stands is that track and field is not a professional sport.
It’s essentially a marketing expense for Nike and a few other shoe companies.
It was hilarious to see the empty stands and seats covered with tarp at Hayward and then see Giant’s stadium (MetLife) sold out to the rafters for WWE Summer Slam.
Maybe the runners should fight each other with Kendo sticks.😂
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.47 -
Legit question:
What cities DO have a track facility that is suitable for US Championships?
I assume you need more than just a college level facility?
70 -
It's really only Icahn Stadium and Mount Sac that are potentially viable stadiums for the national championship. Mount Sac's 20k capacity would look even worse than Hayward and Icahn's 5,000 seat capacity probably isn't enough for the event. Also, Hayward is way more modern than either and has suites that the sponsors love.
Thr crowd wasn't that bad on Saturday. I'm sure next year will be in Eugene again but won't be surprised if '27 and '28 are in LA.
100 -
polevaultpower wrote:
Kvothe wrote:
Minneapolis
Chicago
New York
Boston
San Fran
San Diego
Philly
DC
Madison, WI
Seattle
Lexington, KY
Nashville, TN
Portland, OR
Providence, RI
There is just a long list of cities that would probably get more fans than Eugene.
Most of those cities do not have a track that could host USAs.
I’m from Seattle, UW took the track out of the football stadium. Their new outdoor track is nice, but has no infrastructure around it, not even running water. The handful of stadiums with tracks in the area generally don’t have steeple or hammer.
Most importantly, most of those cities do not have a Local Organizing Committee willing to run the meet and take on the financial risk.
This is where the proverbial chicken meets the egg, so to speak. Track isn't popular in this country so we don't have large track stadiums around the country. And then we have just one place suitable to host large meets and it's difficult and expensive to get to from the (more populated) half of the country east of the Rockies so track remains unpopular even for large meets. TV does not want to show lots of empty seats so restricts broadcast coverage to only the most attended sessions. There is no coherent, cohesive will or strategy to level up any of this, even on this site that alleges to care about the sport. This is fine for a sport with no bonafide credentialing for the pro level.
91 -
Salvitore Stitchmo wrote:
I think this is an excellent run-down.
But man, where were you getting $35 GA tickets from? I bought them off the USATF website through Ticketek and it was $45 for Thursday and $55 for Friday (!!!) Friday in particular I almost didn't want to go - it was only really the 800m semis and 100m finals of any real interest.
The pre-stadium experience (of just getting there) is still just effing annoying - and it's not the USATF's fault or Hayward Field/U of O's fault either. There is still no stadium parking - if you want anything longer than 2 hours (which you need) you need to find a lot which isn't close and it tacks on another $20 or so per day. The "city" of Eugene does these meets no favors at all.
So now if you are there with a car, it's $75 including general admission - I'd love to say the product is worth that - for me it is because I love the sport, not so much for the casual fan that comes from out of town.
Final thing is the TV broadcast situation that hurts this meet and Prefontaine. Everything has to be early afternoon to early evening (the 10000m races Thursday the only exception). The nights were so beautiful and perfect in Eugene last week and ironically they turned the lights on just as everyone was leaving each day. Why does that matter? Sitting on the second half of the top curve and the back straight is absolute torture middle of the day/late afternoon if the sun is out (and it usually is). Protected from any sort of breeze sitting in those seats even on an 85 degree day feels like 105 degrees. Nobody wants to do that. Also running the meet in the afternoon on Thursday/Friday, many people are still working so who is coming into the stadium and paying full price to catch the final 90min of the session (plus the logistical hassle outlined above).
It's such an awesome stadium, but to be honest it's just in a location that isn't really suitable for it. Hayward started as a University track facility - it wasn't meant to be a world class international meet venue - and it shows.
You might be right. The $35 and $45 may have been a promo deal on there for a bit.
So glad the weather cooperated and wasn’t too hot. The 100+ degree days are punishing on the east side.
10 -
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
In addition to what Oregon Steepler said...
I've said it before and I'll say it again...the stadium design is a huge problem for both in person and to the TV viewer.
Even a crowd of 6-8k is going to look abysmal on TV.At this point, just bring in the wrecking ball to the seats along the Bowerman curve. They are horrible. Direct exposure to the sun. Vantage point is horrible. Seat fabric is literally disintegrating. You are close to the action. That's about it. Make that it into an standing room only party zone. Are they prohibited from serving alcohol in the stadium? Turn that whole area into an area with food trucks and picnic tables and canopies or something. It would look cooler on TV than empty seats.
Tear down all the seats on the backstretch. Rebuild the old east grandstand just like it was just with more comfortable benches with backs and wider aisles. Would get the spectators out of the sun, you couldn't tell if there wasn't fans beyond the first 5-6 rows and the mix of the old design with the new stadium design would look fantastic.
Those who want to pay for the plush seating can sit in the new design. Those who want nostalgia, out of the sun/rain and pay less can sit in the "old" design along the backstretch.
No idea how much this would cost but it would be better for both TV optics and the fans in general.
They do sell alcohol in the stadium. It’s not cheap of course.
A beer garden by the steeple pit would be fantastic.
70 -
It's great to talk about moving the meet to different sites but first you need to find a local group that want to put in the work to host such an event. It seems that Eugene is constantly the only place that has that.
80 -
ShoeTubersHaveNoEthics wrote:
It's really only Icahn Stadium and Mount Sac that are potentially viable stadiums for the national championship. Mount Sac's 20k capacity would look even worse than Hayward and Icahn's 5,000 seat capacity probably isn't enough for the event. Also, Hayward is way more modern than either and has suites that the sponsors love.
Thr crowd wasn't that bad on Saturday. I'm sure next year will be in Eugene again but won't be surprised if '27 and '28 are in LA.
‘28 should be in LA but since it’s a raised track and track is moving to the first week, at one point they said they couldn’t host the Trials.
That would be of course be ridiculous - if the Olys are in the U.S.. the Trials should be on the Olympic track.
141 -
Kvothe wrote:
Minneapolis
Chicago
New York
Boston
San Fran
San Diego
Philly
DC
Madison, WI
Seattle
Lexington, KY
Nashville, TN
Portland, OR
Providence, RI
There is just a long list of cities that would probably get more fans than Eugene.
OK, now name the facilities in those cities that could hold the “more fans” you think would attend.
71 -
ShoeTubersHaveNoEthics wrote:
It's really only Icahn Stadium and Mount Sac that are potentially viable stadiums for the national championship. Mount Sac's 20k capacity would look even worse than Hayward and Icahn's 5,000 seat capacity probably isn't enough for the event. Also, Hayward is way more modern than either and has suites that the sponsors love.
Thr crowd wasn't that bad on Saturday. I'm sure next year will be in Eugene again but won't be surprised if '27 and '28 are in LA.
Why not Metlife Stadium? It’s in the same area as Icahn.
Worked for the WWE. 😂😂😂
WWE’s SummerSlam 2025 is positioned to make history as the premium live event approaches the unprecedented milestone of 100,000 tickets sold across its two-day format at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
26 -
I don't know of any facilities in Nashville that could hold a world class track meet. Vanderbilt is barely SEC worthy.
30 -
Badcompany wrote:
ShoeTubersHaveNoEthics wrote:
It's really only Icahn Stadium and Mount Sac that are potentially viable stadiums for the national championship. Mount Sac's 20k capacity would look even worse than Hayward and Icahn's 5,000 seat capacity probably isn't enough for the event. Also, Hayward is way more modern than either and has suites that the sponsors love.
Thr crowd wasn't that bad on Saturday. I'm sure next year will be in Eugene again but won't be surprised if '27 and '28 are in LA.
Why not Metlife Stadium? It’s in the same area as Icahn.
Worked for the WWE. 😂😂😂
WWE’s SummerSlam 2025 is positioned to make history as the premium live event approaches the unprecedented milestone of 100,000 tickets sold across its two-day format at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
I've posted this in numerous other threads but putting a track inside a football stadium isn't going to happen. You'd have to build the track probably 20 feet or so (minimum) up off the ground into the seats to account for the turns. Those seats in most stadiums aren't removable.
A good number of the US football stadiums being used for World Cup 26 are going to have to be modified to account for the increased field sized needed to host those matches. The length is fine, but the width, especially in the corners is the issue.60 -
JustWatched wrote:
I don't know of any facilities in Nashville that could hold a world class track meet. Vanderbilt is barely SEC worthy.
Just accept it’s not a real professional sport. Could you imagine an NBA star player not getting paid?
Grand Slam Track Misses Deadline to Pay Athletes $3 Million
Three agents for athletes who won prize money in Jamaica told Front Office Sports that instead of payments promised by Thursday, they received an email.
“Tomorrow would be the last day before I think people get pretty upset,” Grant Fisher told reporters Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon, ahead of the U.S. track and field championships, which began Thursday afternoon.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.33 -
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
Badcompany wrote:
Why not Metlife Stadium? It’s in the same area as Icahn.
Worked for the WWE. 😂😂😂
WWE’s SummerSlam 2025 is positioned to make history as the premium live event approaches the unprecedented milestone of 100,000 tickets sold across its two-day format at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
I've posted this in numerous other threads but putting a track inside a football stadium isn't going to happen. You'd have to build the track probably 20 feet or so (minimum) up off the ground into the seats to account for the turns. Those seats in most stadiums aren't removable.
A good number of the US football stadiums being used for World Cup 26 are going to have to be modified to account for the increased field sized needed to host those matches. The length is fine, but the width, especially in the corners is the issue.
I made the post in jest.
Professional sports is about putting asses in seats and eyes in front of screens.
Track doesn’t do that. It’s not a real professional sport.
21 -
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
In addition to what Oregon Steepler said...
I've said it before and I'll say it again...the stadium design is a huge problem for both in person and to the TV viewer.
Even a crowd of 6-8k is going to look abysmal on TV.At this point, just bring in the wrecking ball to the seats along the Bowerman curve. They are horrible. Direct exposure to the sun. Vantage point is horrible. Seat fabric is literally disintegrating. You are close to the action. That's about it. Make that it into an standing room only party zone. Are they prohibited from serving alcohol in the stadium? Turn that whole area into an area with food trucks and picnic tables and canopies or something. It would look cooler on TV than empty seats.
Tear down all the seats on the backstretch. Rebuild the old east grandstand just like it was just with more comfortable benches with backs and wider aisles. Would get the spectators out of the sun, you couldn't tell if there wasn't fans beyond the first 5-6 rows and the mix of the old design with the new stadium design would look fantastic.
Those who want to pay for the plush seating can sit in the new design. Those who want nostalgia, out of the sun/rain and pay less can sit in the "old" design along the backstretch.
No idea how much this would cost but it would be better for both TV optics and the fans in general.
This is actually a fantastic idea. Which, of course, means it won't happen.
40 -
ShoeTubersHaveNoEthics wrote:
It's really only Icahn Stadium and Mount Sac that are potentially viable stadiums for the national championship. Mount Sac's 20k capacity would look even worse than Hayward and Icahn's 5,000 seat capacity probably isn't enough for the event. Also, Hayward is way more modern than either and has suites that the sponsors love.
Thr crowd wasn't that bad on Saturday. I'm sure next year will be in Eugene again but won't be surprised if '27 and '28 are in LA.
Have it in the 5000 seat stadium, put up some big screens outside. Have the stadium and surrounding area filled to the brim, like in tennis. Much better than todays situation.
71 -
ShoeTubersHaveNoEthics wrote:
It's really only Icahn Stadium and Mount Sac that are potentially viable stadiums for the national championship. Mount Sac's 20k capacity would look even worse than Hayward and Icahn's 5,000 seat capacity probably isn't enough for the event. Also, Hayward is way more modern than either and has suites that the sponsors love.
Thr crowd wasn't that bad on Saturday. I'm sure next year will be in Eugene again but won't be surprised if '27 and '28 are in LA.
Oh and hotels in NY (Ichan Stadium) are cheap. Track fans not from NY heads would explode when they find out tolls they would have to pay to get to Ichan and forget about dealing with the traffic. Oh you will take public transportation- haha good luck with that.
41
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