After the dreadful attendance at NCAAs this past weekend, Eugene can no longer call itself TrackTown USA. It’s time to stop hosting NCAAs and USAs there every year. Austin was a way better atmosphere for NCAAs last year—the stands were packed for both the men’s and women’s finals. The attendance in Eugene was embarrassing and made the national championships feel like a low-key dual meet.
Awesome stadium, I was all for it, but im coming around to your way of thinking. Maybe at least move it around instead of tiny corner of the west coast. Its not like they have great needs seating wise? Drake, any football stadium with track that's up to date...
If they ever got themselves a decent local organizing committee, I'd love to see the meet at Mt. SAC. Hotels are abundant within a decent range; and you have airport options (Ontario, LAX, John Wayne).
Then again, why would they want to deal with USATF after they got screwed out of the 2020 (21) Olympic Trials after originally getting the meet awarded to them.
Amen, brother! Most of the bashers have never set foot in Eugene. The rest are miserable fools that think Franklin Street or the budget hotel/fast food cluster at Gateway Mall is the entirety of Eugene.
Fun people make fun times wherever they go. Curious people find joy in exploration and new experiences. The lazy and the small minded hide their inadequacies with constant complaining and unfounded criticisms.
Anyone arguing to put this meet at Drake or Austin is not a serious person. It was VERY disappointing to see the meeting have so many empty seats. But, that's not a solution to improve attendance. Asking East Coast track fans to cross the country to EUGENE 2x a year to watch the 2 biggest (3 if you count Pre) in the country is also not the answer.
The meet was in Austin last year and everything went smoothly. Attendance was great. So why is it unserious to think NCAAs should be held in Austin (among other non-Eugene cities) more going forward?
too hot most years. Storms often. What were the attendance numbers? Post vs Eugene.
1. Lack of tourist infrastructure: Food, cultural activities to occupy myself when events not in session and quality accommodation. At my age, I will not rough it just to attend a sporting event. I demand a certain class of accommodation and Eugene lacks it.
2. Cost and schedule of getting to and from Eugene: My business class ticket to Budapest was $300 more than the cost of economy ticket to Eugene. Value for my money rules.
3. Price of tickets to events: Price of tickets for sessions in Budapest was 1/3 sometimes 1/2 of ticket prices for Eugene sessions. While I'm willing and can afford to pay. The high prices to events combined with 1 & 2 bolster the argument for not attending.
4. Even my Jamaican acquaintances who I have met over the years at meets since 2007, and attend both Worlds and Olympics swear that Eugene was the worst they have ever attended and will not return to any event held there.
There a few issues at play that have nothing to do with Oregon or Eugene or Hayward Field. First, track is a niche sport. And second, it's boring as hell to watch live.
Don't get me wrong; I love the sport. I wouldn't be posting in this cesspool if I didn't. But the sport goes not spectate well. There is just so much downtime and so much slowness to it. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to sit through a full day where something exciting is going on 10% of the time and the rest of the time you're watching non-stars warm up and stretch while track workers put up or take down hurdles. Watching Noah Lyles compete in the Olympic final live is very, very different than watching Heat 2 of the prelims of the NCAA 800m.
With that said, Eugene is difficult to get to and the tourism infrastructure (hotels, etc) sucks. Would hosting it at Icahn or Mt. Sac improve that? Yes, sort of, but it wouldn't solve the above issues. A lot of the rhetoric on here seems to posit that solving the travel problems will help with the other problems and that's just not true. You can put the NCAA meet anywhere; unless tickets are free you're not getting 10,000 people in the door. That's just the reality.
The TV coverage was great, save for Dwight Stones. Let's just be happy at that.
Anyone arguing to put this meet at Drake or Austin is not a serious person. It was VERY disappointing to see the meeting have so many empty seats. But, that's not a solution to improve attendance. Asking East Coast track fans to cross the country to EUGENE 2x a year to watch the 2 biggest (3 if you count Pre) in the country is also not the answer.
My post wasn't to say put it in Austin. A more accurate interpretation would be to have events in any other place than Eugene.
What if someone were to build a similar type facility elsewhere in the country eg somewhere in the NE USA or middle of the country or somewhere south close to major transportation hubs in the South? What would be the reason for holding such events in Eugene then?
My vote is Mt. SAC. The new Mt. SAC stadium is awesome. Lots of hotel rooms, many flight options, multiple airports, a town for every budget, and a large radius of fans. Rain is possible but not probable. Lightning delays can happen, but the odds are low. No tornado watches. Air quality is hot and dry, with temps somewhat lower in the morning and evening for distance races. Hot by day for sprints and field events. No altitude. (I remember the Olympic Trials in ‘08 the pollen count in Eugene was bananas.)
After the dreadful attendance at NCAAs this past weekend, Eugene can no longer call itself TrackTown USA. It’s time to stop hosting NCAAs and USAs there every year. Austin was a way better atmosphere for NCAAs last year—the stands were packed for both the men’s and women’s finals. The attendance in Eugene was embarrassing and made the national championships feel like a low-key dual meet.
In response to RoJo's comment, yes, the Olympics should be held every four years in Greece. It would save money by not forcing other countries to build new facilities that are often later abandoned. It would also eliminate the bribery that goes on with the IOC and site selection. IMHO.
Anyone arguing to put this meet at Drake or Austin is not a serious person. It was VERY disappointing to see the meeting have so many empty seats. But, that's not a solution to improve attendance. Asking East Coast track fans to cross the country to EUGENE 2x a year to watch the 2 biggest (3 if you count Pre) in the country is also not the answer.
My post wasn't to say put it in Austin. A more accurate interpretation would be to have events in any other place than Eugene.
What if someone were to build a similar type facility elsewhere in the country eg somewhere in the NE USA or middle of the country or somewhere south close to major transportation hubs in the South? What would be the reason for holding such events in Eugene then?
Wouldn't you need a specific reason to do that though? Hosting world's once and hosting the NCAA meet or the OT every few years isn't enough.
Getting a facility built that is good enough to host the WC or a DL meet has to cost at least what, like $150mm to build from the jump. To justify that, you'd need to have it used about 50-100 times a year, and not just track: concerts, whatever.
Icahn for example is way too small to host WC, is in the biggest market in the country, and probably gets used like 10 times a year. It cost $42mm to build twenty years ago.
Amen, brother! Most of the bashers have never set foot in Eugene. The rest are miserable fools that think Franklin Street or the budget hotel/fast food cluster at Gateway Mall is the entirety of Eugene.
Fun people make fun times wherever they go. Curious people find joy in exploration and new experiences. The lazy and the small minded hide their inadequacies with constant complaining and unfounded criticisms.
Except that...I had relatives in Oregon before state hood. I was born, raised, schooled (Uof0) so I have some gravitas to be critical. I am happy that you and others are happy with Eugene and the surrounding area, but it is not a world class destination and has the same access to the beach and mountains for pretty much of the entirety of I-5 corridor in OR and WA
Do you want to prioritize the fan experience over what’s best for the athletes?
Yes, that's what real sports do.
That is absolutely not true. "Real" sports do both. In fact MLB told Minor League stadiums they would lose accreditation of they didn't address both in all their stadiums very quickly. Just as an example.
I love Eugene's stadium. It is just incredible. But man, figure out how to fill the damn seats. It makes the sport look so silly.
I addressed the oversaturation of meets in Eugene in this week's WTW, writing in part,
On Friday, as the men's 1500 final was about to start, my college roommate texted me excitedly to tell me he had signed up for ESPN just to watch the race. Then he added, "Stands looked empty."
I don't want to hear that the College World Series is always in Omaha. They don't also hold the All-Star Game (Pre Classic) and World Series (Olympic Trials) there every year as well. People only have so much free time and disposable cash.
That being said. here are the official attendance numbers which are kind of a joke.
Day 1 – 8,668 Day 2 – 9,458 Day 3 – 9,997 Day 4 – 9,802 Total – 37,925
My vote is Mt. SAC. The new Mt. SAC stadium is awesome. Lots of hotel rooms, many flight options, multiple airports, a town for every budget, and a large radius of fans. Rain is possible but not probable. Lightning delays can happen, but the odds are low. No tornado watches. Air quality is hot and dry, with temps somewhat lower in the morning and evening for distance races. Hot by day for sprints and field events. No altitude. (I remember the Olympic Trials in ‘08 the pollen count in Eugene was bananas.)
I think that this is realistically the right call. I really wish there was an east coast option. If Franklin Field was viable, that would be great, but its not.
Random, but was the 08 trials where Rupp introduced the mask or was that later?
My vote is Mt. SAC. The new Mt. SAC stadium is awesome. Lots of hotel rooms, many flight options, multiple airports, a town for every budget, and a large radius of fans. Rain is possible but not probable. Lightning delays can happen, but the odds are low. No tornado watches. Air quality is hot and dry, with temps somewhat lower in the morning and evening for distance races. Hot by day for sprints and field events. No altitude. (I remember the Olympic Trials in ‘08 the pollen count in Eugene was bananas.)
I think that this is realistically the right call. I really wish there was an east coast option. If Franklin Field was viable, that would be great, but its not.
Random, but was the 08 trials where Rupp introduced the mask or was that later?
That’s an interesting point — why doesn’t Penn just fix the damn track and get it up to standard?
My post wasn't to say put it in Austin. A more accurate interpretation would be to have events in any other place than Eugene.
What if someone were to build a similar type facility elsewhere in the country eg somewhere in the NE USA or middle of the country or somewhere south close to major transportation hubs in the South? What would be the reason for holding such events in Eugene then?
Wouldn't you need a specific reason to do that though? Hosting world's once and hosting the NCAA meet or the OT every few years isn't enough.
Getting a facility built that is good enough to host the WC or a DL meet has to cost at least what, like $150mm to build from the jump. To justify that, you'd need to have it used about 50-100 times a year, and not just track: concerts, whatever.
Icahn for example is way too small to host WC, is in the biggest market in the country, and probably gets used like 10 times a year. It cost $42mm to build twenty years ago.
How often is the tennis facility in Queens used outside of the Major? How about Mets and Yankees' stadia? Outside of a couple of games per year?
If a world class facility is built, it can be put to great use. You can have Worlds, DL, DL Final, Championship Of Champions or whatever it is called, NCAA Finals, School Championships. Division championships, All held in the facility.
Once there is a proper facility that is easy to get to from all corners of the globe, marketing can then be developed around the events, the facility, the area. If it is in a desirable area people who are interested will attend and bring their families and friends who may not be as interested, but can find themselves with things to do while their friends and family members are off to the events. Word spreads and people who may not be interested may just drop in.
Ichan is definitely too small a facility and not up to global standards. Penn would have to be completely rebuilt to make the track standard and facilities global.
Perhaps build a facility over in the Mets Stadium Tennis area if space is available, and make there a sports complex. Or build a complex in a more accessible area that people want to visit.
We can't beat pounding the square peg in the Eugene round hole.
Location plays an important part.
This post was edited 4 minutes after it was posted.
Anyone willing to do some additional data compiling for tracks with 8 lanes and post them? I'll backcheck and compile it all later.
Here are a few:
U of Buffalo - 29,013
Hornet Stadium (Sacramento State) - 21,195
Mike A Myers Stadium (U of Texas at Austin) - 20,000
Drake Stadium (U of Des Moines) - 14,557
Hayward Field (U of Oregon) - 12,650 Cessna Stadium (U of Wichita) - 12,000 [existing 30,000 pax stadium is half demolished, remainder being demo'd this year. 12,000 capacity stadium construction hasn't started yet]
Hilmer Lodge Stadium (Mt. SAC) - 11,500
Michael A Carroll Stadium (Indiana U Indianapolis) - 10,000
UB Stadium: 8 Lane Track Completed in the summer of 1993, UB Stadium is the home of the football and women's soccer team, as well as UB's track and field
Cessna Stadium is a stadium on the campus of Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It opened in 1946 and served as the home of the football team until the program was discontinued in 1986. It is currentl...
The facility meets International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) specifications for accommodating local, national and international track and field events, including Olympic training and trials
September 26, 2022 - The Wichita State University Board of Trustees approved funding in September 2022 for phases 1A and 1B for the capital improvement plan to replace Cessna Stadium for a total project cost of approximately...
This list contains stadiums with at least a 45,000 capacity that include facilities for athletics events. Athletics stadiums with a capacity of 45,000 or higher See also List of sports venues by capacity List of stadiums List...
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.
