Empty stands..

Watched a great meet wrote:

Salvitore Stitchmo wrote:

I wrote a while ago I just can't defend Eugene anymore. Today validated it. It's even amazing so many of the athletes showed up to run given how long the season was, but the first thing I see on the telecast is the completely empty seating around that final curve just before the home straight. They also did a great job coloring the seats the way they did make it appear like there are people there when there isn't.

I get the tickets a day before the meet might have been dramatically reduced in price, but when you go on there for the first time a fortnight out (you know, when you want to plan sh-t) and they are going for $95-135 just for half decent seats, it's a bit of a killer.

Either way, there is simply no way that a meet this late in the season should be outside of Europe. Period.

Where were you looking to see tickets at that price? I got $25 tickets 5 rows up from the track, for both days. Bought them a week ago and hadn’t seen any fluctuation over the past month of looking.

CCB wrote:

I’m in Eugene, was there yesterday, and will be there today. Snagged a nice, decently priced Airbnb back in November for $550 total for two nights.

I have 2 seats at the finish line 5 rows up. Needed a 3rd seat last minute for Sunday. On Friday, there were no available tickets. Had to get one from StubHub for $65 upper section on the 1st turn.

The stadium better be packed today or at least more crowded than yesterday otherwise why were there literally no tickets available on Ticketmaster? I was disappointed with all the empty seats Saturday. There is no way all of the empty seats were from people standing on the walkways. Maybe 1/10 of people were doing that.

Many athletes have expressed their disappointment about Eugene not being able to fill the stadium. It is frustrating that when listening to post race interviews from day 1, I heard some athletes say they were leaving Eugene that night. The stadium not being filled is not just on fans but on the athletes too. George Beamish (I love Coffee Club but they are some of the biggest critics of Eugene and the empty stadium) and Kai Robinson why aren’t you staying for day 2 to help fill the stadium and add to the aura of TrackTown? Nike at least should require that their athletes make an appearance in the stands on the day they are not competing.

Regardless, as always, it was a great meet, such a great atmosphere. The mile was unreal, a great end to the first day.

I realize Eugene is expensive and hard to get to. I’m lucky as it is only a 5 hour drive. As a fan, I love that it is in a smaller town like Eugene. Over the weekend we have run into so many athletes. Breakfast at House of Pancakes you will always be there with at least 3 of the athletes who are in the meet. In a big city that kind of interaction wouldn’t happen.

CCB wrote:

I’m in Eugene, was there yesterday, and will be there today. Snagged a nice, decently priced Airbnb back in November for $550 total for two nights.

I have 2 seats at the finish line 5 rows up. Needed a 3rd seat last minute for Sunday. On Friday, there were no available tickets. Had to get one from StubHub for $65 upper section on the 1st turn.

The stadium better be packed today or at least more crowded than yesterday otherwise why were there literally no tickets available on Ticketmaster? I was disappointed with all the empty seats Saturday. There is no way all of the empty seats were from people standing on the walkways. Maybe 1/10 of people were doing that.

Many athletes have expressed their disappointment about Eugene not being able to fill the stadium. It is frustrating that when listening to post race interviews from day 1, I heard some athletes say they were leaving Eugene that night. The stadium not being filled is not just on fans but on the athletes too. George Beamish (I love Coffee Club but they are some of the biggest critics of Eugene and the empty stadium) and Kai Robinson why aren’t you staying for day 2 to help fill the stadium and add to the aura of TrackTown? Nike at least should require that their athletes make an appearance in the stands on the day they are not competing.

Regardless, as always, it was a great meet, such a great atmosphere. The mile was unreal, a great end to the first day.

I realize Eugene is expensive and hard to get to. I’m lucky as it is only a 5 hour drive. As a fan, I love that it is in a smaller town like Eugene. Over the weekend we have run into so many athletes. Breakfast at House of Pancakes you will always be there with at least 3 of the athletes who are in the meet. In a big city that kind of interaction wouldn’t happen.

Salvitore Stitchmo wrote:

Watched a great meet wrote:

Where were you looking to see tickets at that price? I got $25 tickets 5 rows up from the track, for both days. Bought them a week ago and hadn’t seen any fluctuation over the past month of looking.

I went to the tracktown website what must have been 10 days ago and was just followed the links to tickets from there. I looked at the bottom bay down the back straight (which as we know when it's hot and the skies are clear is a pretty brutal place to sit but the location is good. The only available tickets there were $95-$135 and that was for one day.

Now, almost certainly I could have tried other avenues. I know I could have got tickets for free if I wanted them but I just wanted to see. What website are you finding $25 tickets on? (serious question I will recommend it next time). I think the point is if going through tracktown leads you to some surge priced tickets when there are much cheaper options out there just on other platforms then there is a huge problem.

Was pretty happy with the crowd wrote:

I was there and have some observations:

Obviously Eugene is a horrible location to have these meets in but I think the reaction to todays crowd is overblown.

The seats on the second curve are the worst in the stadium because the sun is directly in your eyes in the afternoon. Those were the sections Track Town USA was giving away to youth and their parents for free. I requested tickets through that program and they had more requests than seats. The seats were empty because not because people didn’t use their tickets but they preferred standing in the shade than sitting in blinding sun. The concourse and the shaded areas to stand (which is much of the stadium) was absolutely packed even while events were happening.

I know many people (myself included) who stay in Salem instead of Eugene. Did it for Worlds and doing it this weekend. It’s a bit of a pain to drive nearly an hour each way but I’m paying less than half the cost of a Eugene Motel 6 for a quality hire in Salem. Shouldn’t have to do it, but it is what it is.

The stadium didn’t feel empty at all yesterday. During the Bowerman Mile everyone was on their feet and the crowd was deafening. One of the best crowd moments at a live sporting event I’d ever been to.

This doesn’t take away from the fact that Eugene is a horrible place to get to and to find accommodations for. But the stadium was far from empty yesterday.