Augusto E. Perez wrote:
I think there are a few reasons why we aren’t seeing full stands in Eugene as we did years ago.
One is event fatigue: this is the fourth straight Olympic Trials here and the tenth USA Championships in 16 years. That’s on top of ten NCAA Championships in 14 years, a world championships, a number of PAC-12 championships, the usual Oregon home meets and the state high school championships. It’s a lot to keep going back to the same place if you have limited vacation time and money.
Another is cost. Eugene isn’t easy to get to with limited hotels and high prices when a big event is in town. And as much as inflation has raised prices, wages haven’t kept pace so you’re asking track fans to pay more now than you were a decade ago.
There’s also the Hayward factor. A lot of the hardcore base and old timers loved the old Hayward field and aren’t as excited about the modern edition.
And that point leads me to the old timers themselves. We have an aging fanbase and how many have gotten too old to travel or have sadly died in the last decade, especially with the toll that the pandemic took on the elderly? I have a few older track fans who were Trials regulars but have since died.
There is streaming now. I am watching from Athens, Greece on a work trip. I could have rescheduled, but there is streaming now.