The poor attendance at the meet aside, the bigger issue, which I know has been mentioned is the fact that this meet can't be easily watched by the general public.
I haven't checked, so I could be wrong, but I'll bet I can't even go to youtube and find the a replay of the 800 semi or the 100 finals... but I know I can find stage 1-7 of the Tour de France there.
It's called promoting your sport... something the USATF seems to be very poor at doing.
And hold it where Ichan? Ever try to get to ichan? Very difficult. Think hotel prices and car rentals are expensive in Eugene?
My wife and I took subway and walked across bridge. You could also take subway to 96 (or even to queens) and hail a cab or Uber. You tell the driver ICAHN STADIUM, he puts it in his gps and, voila, you are there.
I honestly think the problem with Eugene right now is oversaturation. Too many meets...
I agree... I typed the same last year when we had the exact same thread after Worlds. But I'll say it again, I can't go to everything. If you lived in the area and could go get to these meets within 2 hours from your house, how many would you go to? This is a typical year in Eugene:
Oregon Twilight Meet (old-school NCAA action)
Oregon Relays (my own kids will be racing)
Oregon HS State (our local HS team will be racing)
Nike Outdoor Nationals (Birnbaum v. Lex & Leo was rad; but it was $33 per ticket, including kids over 12)
NCAA T&F Nationals
USA Nationals or Olympic Trials (our best athletes)
Prefontaine Classic Diamond League (the best of the best)
I read through this long thread while relaxing in Eugene before the meet this evening and after a group run here this morning with about 100 other runners in town for nationals. Wow, so much complaining and whining about USATF, Eugene, meet attendance, cost of hotels here, the low popularity of track in America, and on and on. Reading all that negativity, you'd think it's a miracle that me and my friends are having a blast here in Eugene.
All of you who think it's such a horrible decision to hold big meets in Eugene can stay home and whine while those of who actually come to Eugene enjoy watching great races in beautiful Hayward Field, morning runs on the bark paths at Pre's Trails, a plethora of great brewpubs and restaurants, group runs with other track fans, and fantastic weather for running and spectating (at least this week.) I sure wouldn't want to run in July in any of the hot, muggy other cities suggested in this thread as alternate locations for big summer meets!
I read through this long thread while relaxing in Eugene before the meet this evening and after a group run here this morning with about 100 other runners in town for nationals. Wow, so much complaining and whining about USATF, Eugene, meet attendance, cost of hotels here, the low popularity of track in America, and on and on. Reading all that negativity, you'd think it's a miracle that me and my friends are having a blast here in Eugene.
All of you who think it's such a horrible decision to hold big meets in Eugene can stay home and whine while those of who actually come to Eugene enjoy watching great races in beautiful Hayward Field, morning runs on the bark paths at Pre's Trails, a plethora of great brewpubs and restaurants, group runs with other track fans, and fantastic weather for running and spectating (at least this week.) I sure wouldn't want to run in July in any of the hot, muggy other cities suggested in this thread as alternate locations for big summer meets!
Dude from Oregon who can drive to meet… also apparently blind.
I read through this long thread while relaxing in Eugene before the meet this evening and after a group run here this morning with about 100 other runners in town for nationals. Wow, so much complaining and whining about USATF, Eugene, meet attendance, cost of hotels here, the low popularity of track in America, and on and on. Reading all that negativity, you'd think it's a miracle that me and my friends are having a blast here in Eugene.
All of you who think it's such a horrible decision to hold big meets in Eugene can stay home and whine while those of who actually come to Eugene enjoy watching great races in beautiful Hayward Field, morning runs on the bark paths at Pre's Trails, a plethora of great brewpubs and restaurants, group runs with other track fans, and fantastic weather for running and spectating (at least this week.) I sure wouldn't want to run in July in any of the hot, muggy other cities suggested in this thread as alternate locations for big summer meets!
Am also here for the umpteenth time, having a blast also , traveled from east coast, am on these buccolic trails every morning, yadda, yadda, yadda. Wouldn't trade these experiences for some lame cruise.
And hold it where Ichan? Ever try to get to ichan? Very difficult. Think hotel prices and car rentals are expensive in Eugene?
My wife and I took subway and walked across bridge. You could also take subway to 96 (or even to queens) and hail a cab or Uber. You tell the driver ICAHN STADIUM, he puts it in his gps and, voila, you are there.
That’s a long walk. I estimate it over 2 miles. From an access standpoint, I put it on par with getting to the Meadowlands from Midtown. It really comes down to the passion of your fan base. Taylor Swift fans didn’t have a problem getting to MetLife stadium and filling it up.
New stadium is inferior to the old one, shutting down for two years was a huge mistake..............seats are too far away.........ticket prices way too high.............Oregon doesn't allow their best athletes to run at Hayward, but sends them to CA, AZ, etc...................it wasn't very long ago when the stands were packed for all four days of the NCAA Championships................I've turned in my season tickets after 20 years.................many of my friends have done the same...............talked about ruining a once successful program...........
New stadium is superior (the old place was claustrophobic, smelled like piss on warm days, and too many old farts would get snarky and aggro when someone needed to use the facilities or came back from buying a snack - I don't miss having to step over 25 seniors with bad knees that refused to move when asked to create some space) and two years without meets did hurt. The seats are fine and 90% have great sightlines without craning to look around support poles like the old east stands. I agree that Oregon and Ticketmaster charge too much for events and the insistence on paperless ticketing eliminates a lot of the die-hard old guard fans. The Ducks need to run their A squad at all home meets but, part of that is the NCAAs fault by forcing athletes to chase qualifying marks to enter regionals. NCAA full capacity? That's ticket pricing, the stupid Go Ducks app, and the lack of Oregon athletes making the meet.
I don't blame you and your friends for seeking other entertainment options. The university needs to step up their game, lower prices, allow for alcohol sales at non-NCAA events, and throw tarps over 2/3 of the upper deck unless it is Pre or the Oly Trials.
25-30K roll into town on football weekends. Most drive down from Portland and then return after the games (Pro tip: avoid I-5 North after a Ducks or Beavers game - heavy traffic and lots of drun...err, bad drivers!)
Between hotels, short-term rentals, and camping within a 20 mile radius, Eugene can handle about 10K-12K daily visitors. The problem is two-fold: the local inn keepers are not stupid and they know when games, meets, and concerts are happening. Prices jump accordingly. The second part is that track fans have to stop being so cheap. I get that people don't want to spend big money for Oregon Relays but you shouldn't be surprised about costs for major meets. If you are passionate enough, you find a way and it is worth it to you.
That said, Eugene relies very heavily on fans from Portland to fill seats. As the city has grown, so has the traffic. Twenty years ago, it took 90 minutes to reach Hayward from the Portland area. Today it is two hours, closer to three if you are trying to drive south after 3:00 PM on a weekday evening. This is why weekday events at NCAA and USATF are so poorly attended.
HRE has it right. More fans would show up for the Oregon-Oregon State dual meet in the 1970s than are attending the National Championships right now.
That’s the key to any full stadium for track and field. Diamond League meets fill the stands with locals. If that many local people were still coming to Eugene meets, combined with outside Oregon attendees - the stands would be full.
Those local fans are either too old, dead, or just not interested anymore.
I’m old enough to remember 20-30,000 people showing up for the “Big Meet”between Cal and Stanford. We’re not in Kansas anymore. These days you’d have a hard time rounding round up 30,000 T&F fans in the whole country, and to think that attendance would be significantly different anywhere else is pure fantasy. Track is dead, long live track.