maybe if people actually used public transport. In reality a track in SI would mean even more hellish traffic on 278. Satan island is not going to work.
Maybe Atlanta, can be brutally hot. Hosted the Olympics, good airport, lots of colleges within driving distance. Kinda crimey in town so maybe in one of the burbs.
There was big missed opportunity in LA after the 84 Olympics. There was non-profit youth sports foundation and library created with the surplus funds first known as AAF and now LA84. It would have been possible to headquarter USATF in LA and develop Mt SAC or other university stadium as a main competition site. It just shows the ineptitude of those managing the sport. Headquarters of major sport in Indianapolis? What a joke. The LA84 sports library has also been dismantled in recent years. It was amazing archive of track and field and now gone. Some of it sold off to highest bidder. So we have lost continuity and connection to the history of the sport as well.
Building a stadium anywhere will not solve the problem that the governing body is self-serving and interested only in their own well-being. They are clueless how to promote the sport. Sad to say I think we are past the point of no return for national and international competitions in the US. High school invitationals will continue to proliferate since most are not connected with USATF and promoted by sponsors. This is largest potential audience - everyone wants to watch their kids compete. Though all of the events are in competition with each other to attract athletes which dilutes the competition for each. This week alone there are five different competitions with USATF JO and AAU nationals later in the summer. Wouldn't it be nice to have one big nationals? That won't happen because none of it is about developing the sport.
USATF Junior/Under-20 Championships, Eugene, OR, June 12-13
Nike Outdoor Nationals, Eugene, OR, June 12-15
Brooks PR Invitational, Renton, WA, June 12
New Balance Nationals-Outdoor, Philadelphia, PA, June 13-16
adidas Track Nationals, Greensboro, NC, June 13-16
Great comment!
I really don't like comparing the big sport leagues to T&F, however when the MLB, NFL, NBA and the NHL ALL have their headquarters in Manhattan NYC, maybe they are on to something? Maybe LA is the culture capital, but NYC is the business and marketing capital of the US. I know at some point Indianapolis was called the 'Amateur Sports Capital of the US', but USATF needs to have their headquarters in NYC. Max would love it, he would have to ask for a cost-of-living raise.
It is so ridiculous that all these Invitationals are on the same weekend. Some should be combined and some scheduled for other weekends. The sport is cannibalizing itself!!
If you had access to tons of cash and were tasked to put in a Hayward-esque track-only stadium anywhere in the US, where would you put it? Ideally, this would be a place with decent weather, a major airport, abundant hotels, fun nightlife, and a large population of sports enthusiasts.
Southern California. Perfect weather for all events, Major city with Major airports, abundant hotels, nightlife and other attractions when not at the track all day.
If you had access to tons of cash and were tasked to put in a Hayward-esque track-only stadium anywhere in the US, where would you put it? Ideally, this would be a place with decent weather, a major airport, abundant hotels, fun nightlife, and a large population of sports enthusiasts.
that track in the lower east side or even the one in williamsburg could easily be converted into big stadiums
If you had access to tons of cash and were tasked to put in a Hayward-esque track-only stadium anywhere in the US, where would you put it? Ideally, this would be a place with decent weather, a major airport, abundant hotels, fun nightlife, and a large population of sports enthusiasts.
Southern California. Perfect weather for all events, Major city with Major airports, abundant hotels, nightlife and other attractions when not at the track all day.
I'm with the Vermont/Slauson guy.
Remodel, expand, and use the track at Hawkins High School.
Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill triangle - accessible by air, ground and train. Population base, college sports supporters, decent place to go.
Exactly why Cincinnati iwould be perfect.
Cincinnati isn’t a “decent place to go.” The city is dirty and public transportation sucks. If you like hot & humid air with a lot of pollution, Cincinnati might be good. What would you expect when you have a city that is in a valley that has two major highways going through it? All that truck pollution creates smog and with the heavy and humid air, it just hangs in the valley.
Don’t even compare Cincinnati to the research triangle in North Carolina. That is a much better area and it’s not even close.
The brutal truth is the sport is duller than drying paint. No track stadium would draw many fans.
Part of the reason is the Olympics, which reduced meets to pageantry that looks like something special on TV but is boring AF in person.
It's boring AF in person because of the relentlessly positive vibe, like parents watching their kids at a school play. That's not what sports fans want. They want to hate the opposing team, boo the refs, get the whole experience, not just cheer.
The brutal truth is the sport is duller than drying paint. No track stadium would draw many fans.
Part of the reason is the Olympics, which reduced meets to pageantry that looks like something special on TV but is boring AF in person.
It's boring AF in person because of the relentlessly positive vibe, like parents watching their kids at a school play. That's not what sports fans want. They want to hate the opposing team, boo the refs, get the whole experience, not just cheer.
99% of track is school teams. At least.
We need WW3 to make the Olympics interesting again. I suspect that the 1920 and 1948 Olympics weren't entirely boring.
I was going to say this too, except that Stanford's facility doesn't hold enough people. But premise here is building a new stadium and the Palo Alto area is perfect. Perfect weather (not windy like San Francisco nor brutally hot in summer like Sacramento or parts of the East Bay); low crime; lots of nearby airports (SFO, San Jose, even Oakland); lots to do; big, wealthy population; sophisticated track fans. There aren't a ton of nearby hotels but the Bay Area has plenty.
While not necessarily ideal, the Stanford facility has already hosted two usatf championships. In 2002 and 2003, temporary stands were built on both sides to dramatically increase capacity.
In terms of drawing crowds, Hayward's biggest problem is being in Eugene. I live in Portland, and it's a decent drive down but hardly any traffic so it goes fast; if there was a decent regional airport down there, it would make life so much better for visitors, but I'm not sure Eugene really wants to be that big time anyway (regardless of being 'Tracktown USA' and having a world class facility).
The drive from Portland to Eugene is never fast. There is always a slow car sitting on the passing lane blocking miles of traffic.
Maybe I've gotten lucky but the dozens of times I've done the drive from NE Portland to Eugene, it's never taken me more than 2 hours.
The brutal truth is the sport is duller than drying paint. No track stadium would draw many fans.
Part of the reason is the Olympics, which reduced meets to pageantry that looks like something special on TV but is boring AF in person.
It's boring AF in person because of the relentlessly positive vibe, like parents watching their kids at a school play. That's not what sports fans want. They want to hate the opposing team, boo the refs, get the whole experience, not just cheer.
99% of track is school teams. At least.
and yet in europe stadiums fill up for track and field.