I’ve been in and competed in facilities all over the world, and I think the new Hayward Field might just be the best ever built. I was skeptical and hated the thought of losing the history that would fall under the wrecking ball, but seeing the 2021 OT there made me a convert.
Does not bode well for World Championships next year. Although I will be going, I don't trust the ticket/capacity numbers suggesting it's a lot fuller than it really is. Trials was half empty. Pre Classic was half empty. It will be embarrassing to host a major championship and we won't even fill the stands to half capacity. Meanwhile, college football stadiums will be filled to capacity for even middling football programs.
Some of us have been saying this for a long, long time but we need to look beyond Eugene. Even then, maybe running is inherently flawed as a spectator sport because its target audience is much more likely to prefer being active rather than sit and watch.
If we want to attract the average non-running crowd to the seats we need to have meets at night, have alcohol sales, and entertainment outside of running (music acts, "halftime" shows, and some fun activities to do outside of the stadium as an appetizer). Sh*t, have the crowd do the wave just to get the crowd involved.
People in western Oregon like to pretend they care about black people, but when it comes down to attending a sporting event featuring some of the greatest black athletes in the world they're a no show.
Go try to buy a ticket for the evening sessions of Day 8, Day 9, or Day 10 of the 2022 Worlds, to be held in Eugene. $400 a pop for the nosebleeds (after the websites take their commissions, $1000+ for trackside.
So I guess Track Town USA is not quite done.
runnerdave wrote:
I drove down from Portland, had a front row home stretch seat and was a few feet away from the world’s best athletes. Don’t really know why more people didn’t take advantage of the meet. The Hayward crowd are hard core track and field fans and of different political stripes. No politics there, just athletics. I am not sure what the seating capacity is for the new Hayward Field as compared to the former, but maybe it’s a little optimistic that people are going to sit in the upper deck for a track meet. I had a great time and high-fived a number of the world’s best. Probably cheaper than another reunion tour of the Eagles.
Worlds best athletes? Were you at a football game? Certainly not a track meet.
Maybe the Oregon faithful have grown tired of Nike greed and hypocrisy
Why would anyone pay to watch the rejects of real sports? The “worlds best athletes” are in basketball, baseball, football, soccer and tennis. MLB stadiums have zero problems filling stadiums all summer. It’s a family outing.
The majority of the attendance at Hayward are socially stunted running nerds there by themselves most likely.
wejo wrote:
There is something up with their ticketing site. It showed less than a 1000 tickets available yesterday.
At the Trials it showed very few tickets left.
https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=10803578
Ever think maybe they never intended to sell even seat? That they were limiting the number of available seats from the start?
Track and field is like a flyover state. People are friendly and helpful when visitors drop in. Just dont plan on staying long because they dont really want that. That....is beer drinking, loud, obnoxious crowds. The sport doesnt attract that kind anyway. Too much respect for all participants. Speak with your feet mentality vs what you see in certain egomaniacs that dont back it up with performance.
The only people who worry about getting football crowds in America for track meets are being unrealistic even though they are passionate about the sport. Most of the rest of a country that has so many ball games to offer starting at an early age think like this; The only thing more boring than track is field.
I dont mind being called a track nerd. I actually used to play it in the back yard with neighbor friends when I was a kid. Round rock for shot, flat rock for discus, chairs for hurdles etc... I think its a sport with great participation at lower levels but the talent and committment to achieve at the highest levels is not possible for most. Ballgames have so many more opportunities and incentives not to mention many more people are willing and can sit and watch.
Having major meets in USA in one spot is never a good idea to expect to grow the sport either. They have to pay the pros and rent facilities but they need to drop the prices. That alone is a major deterrent but i dont think usatf is interested in that. I dont know if any more people would show up with lower ticket prices anyway. Those that can afford travel will do so anyway. Many others just complain from afar and never attend. They just want to see a full stadium on tv because it validates their interest in the sport to others. My suggestion to them is dont worry about that and just get to the meets as often as you can. Its way more fun in person whether the stadium is full or not. You get to see so much more and visit with so many other people that love the sport as well. Forget what other sports stadiums are like and do your part to be a fan, coach, etc....and take it back to those in your community. I have and its worked out as well as anyone could expect.
I've generally been a Eugene defender, but after going to NCAAs and the Trials, I've come around to thinking it needs to be in rotation with other locations. The Eugene/Portland community of like 65+ white people just isn't enough of a fanbase to sustain the sport.
Eugene is hard to get to and a s**thole. Overpriced, crappy motels, with very little (pleasantly) walkable. Foreigners are gonna be absolutely horrified by Eugene outside Hayward next year.