Between the facilities needed, the size the community needed and the weather/altitude preferred... there aren't a lot of options.
Austin is great on all fronts but the weather. Not really fair to the distance guys.
You could get decent weather at altitude but again. Not really fair to the distance guys.
Here in Oklahoma we handle the travel part of it but we don't have a track facility that could seat the number of people required.
I'm glad to see this thread. I was doing my own research on this last week. I disagree that there aren't a ton of options.
Any site that hosted regionals could do it.
Minnesota or Buffalo seem ideal weather wise. It's funny so many are saying Minnesota as I was on wikipedia last week just looking at random track. I think we only need like a 7,000 seat stadium and came across this random stadium at St. Johns in Minnesota:
That got me thinking. Bascially any track could host it if you are willing to pay to add a few seats. I called up the Princeton coach and told him he should host and just get an alum to pay for some seats. He didn't hate the idea. The first collegiate meet was held at Princeton in 1873 so it's a shame we didn't think of this earlier. We easily could have found a rich alum to pay for the seats to celebrate 150 years of Princeton track in 2023. There is a football stadium next door for warmups and an indoor facility as well.
Seems ideal. So Princeton is officially hosting one year. Eugene can host once every 4. We need some others.
What about Chicago or somewhere else in Illinois? Michigan? Thinking about weather.
But i also like Virginia/ Raleigh/Durham. Lots of options.
Jonathan Gault told me he thought the NCAA likes to have it on the West Coast (so they can hav ewon championship in east, one in middle and one in West). What about Seattle if we aren't doing LA?
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With all due respect, Seattle can't host it until someone puts up some money to fix the infield at Husky Track, which is sinking...it was built at the site of the former city garbage dump, and would need among other things, more pilings on the infield to support it. You'd probably have to rip out the track to put more pilings in.
That track was built over ten years ago as part of the Husky Stadium renovation project (they ripped out the track at Husky Stadium) and when the stadium went over budget, they skimped on the pilings, over the objections of the previous coaching staff. The UW athletic department is in debt to the school for the renovation project, and with only getting a half share of Big Ten TV money, thoughts of renovating the track won't happen.
The meet CAN be held elsewhere. However, Nike $$$ will keep all major meets in Eugene indefinitely. Since the opening of the new Hayward, both Olympic Trials, all three USATF Championships, and 7 out of 8 NCAAs have been held (or are scheduled to be held) there.
Olympic Trials 2008 - Eugene 2012 - Eugene 2016 - Eugene 2021 - Eugene 2024 - Eugene 2028 - Should be Los Angeles, but already excuses are being made to have it in Eugene
USATF Championships 2009 - Eugene 2010 - Des Moines 2011 - Eugene 2013 - Des Moines 2014 - Sacramento 2015 - Eugene 2017 - Sacramento 2018 - Des Moines (new Hayward being built) 2019 - Des Moines (new Hayward being built) 2022 - Eugene 2023 - Eugene 2025 - Eugene
Again, reality check. Nobody wants it bad enough to actually pay for it and provide adequate officiating. Eugene it is until then. Most attending are there for the meet and don't care about tourism and entertainment although you could drive short distances to natural beauty. One meet in DesMoines, Fayetteville, Indianapolis, Austin etc..hit AGAIN by series of thunderstorm delays, 10k run after midnight, races rescheduled, spectating splashy performances without records, winners out of lane 8, throws out of submerged rings and sopping takeoff boards and everyone will be crying for Oregon to host in a relatively nice June setting. Been to most since 1980.
I challenge ALL others to take up the torch and make it happen in at least 1 East Coast location everyother year and leave it at Oregon the other years. Who whines about ncaa BB,FB, BB etc... championship sites?
Oregon overall is the absolute best site for ALL the athletes and they deserve the best environment. Please, someone, just find one anywhere that can come close. IF you really want to be there with mostly parents and coaches you'll find a way. Most of the complainers here aren't people that have attended, just complained from afar.
To build on the comment of a few others, Minnesota/Twin Cities would be a strong candidate.
* Centrally located with an accessible airport.
* Decent weather. Mean daily high of 79 is warmer than Eugene (74) but cooler than previous hosts Austin (93), Sacramento (89), and Des Moines (81).
* Extensive local experience hosting major sporting events, including the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup, men's and women's Final Fours.
* Strong running culture, punching above its weight considering the weather (running notables include recent olympians Dakotah Popehn, Joe Klecker, and Joe Fahnbulleh, marathoner Annie Frisbie, among others). Grandma's and the Twin Cities Marathon are solidly near the top of second-tier marathons in the U.S.
* Respectable performance from U of Minnesota, finishing 7th this year on the men's side.
* Hobbs Kessler dragged Eugene recently but (to my knowledge) has never dragged the Twin Cities.
Whatever site is chosen, you also have to consider hotel rooms availability, and their capacity.
Not really. As the poster above you showed, you only have to consider nike money. Nike is fine with keeping everything in Eugene if they can sell a few more pairs of dragonflies or whatever. The fans and their experience are a nonfactor for the decision makers compared to the nike money.
To build on the comment of a few others, Minnesota/Twin Cities would be a strong candidate.
* Centrally located with an accessible airport.
* Decent weather. Mean daily high of 79 is warmer than Eugene (74) but cooler than previous hosts Austin (93), Sacramento (89), and Des Moines (81).
* Extensive local experience hosting major sporting events, including the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup, men's and women's Final Fours.
* Strong running culture, punching above its weight considering the weather (running notables include recent olympians Dakotah Popehn, Joe Klecker, and Joe Fahnbulleh, marathoner Annie Frisbie, among others). Grandma's and the Twin Cities Marathon are solidly near the top of second-tier marathons in the U.S.
* Respectable performance from U of Minnesota, finishing 7th this year on the men's side.
* Hobbs Kessler dragged Eugene recently but (to my knowledge) has never dragged the Twin Cities.
Chicago, Milwaukee, or Twin Cities would be perfect but a school and facility need to be able to host. I recommend rich Northwestern alumni digging up some funds to build a facility. Problem solved.
This post was edited 24 seconds after it was posted.
Winner of the East or West regional can host. If that’s too short of a time frame to make hosting possible, consider an in-season scoring system, assigning host to the winning team from previous year outdoor, or assign to the winning team from most recent indoor nationals. If top of list declines to host, go down in descending order until someone wants it. Reward home field advantage for teams going after wins. I don’t think the logistics are as nearly complicated to host as some may think given how small the attendance appears to be (from my viewpoint watching on TV). People will figure out how to adapt. They always do.
Winner of the East or West regional can host. If that’s too short of a time frame to make hosting possible, consider an in-season scoring system, assigning host to the winning team from previous year outdoor, or assign to the winning team from most recent indoor nationals. If top of list declines to host, go down in descending order until someone wants it. Reward home field advantage for teams going after wins. I don’t think the logistics are as nearly complicated to host as some may think given how small the attendance appears to be (from my viewpoint watching on TV). People will figure out how to adapt. They always do.
Regional sites shouldn't necessarily host. EG: east regional had multiple thunderstorm delays and had athletes racing at like 1 or 2 am. This year a school in Florida hosted east regional. Their weather situation might make them a great host for xc but not a track meet in june.
Chicago, Milwaukee, or Twin Cities would be perfect but a school and facility need to be able to host. I recommend rich Northwestern alumni digging up some funds to build a facility. Problem solved.
With Northwestern starting to sponsor track & field again next year, this seems like an intriguing option. Chicago, Twin Cities, and Indy all fit a lot of positives of the criteria laid out earlier in the thread.
Simple solution is to move the East regionals to potential sites for future NCAA Finals consideration. For example, the Towson site in Baltimore County, Princeton, Wisconsin, etc. Then analyze the track, spectator experience, travel and accommodations, etc. for hosting the Finals. Don't just move without testing a site in advance! Lastly, while I love Eugene and the incredible stadium, the expenses involved in traveling to and staying in Eugene have become prohibitive for families. We need the next generation to love Track & Field as much as we do.