RIP TrackTown USA

Another point: why not give away unsold tickets to high school teams in Oregon? Anything to pack the stands and avoid the embarrassment of a lifeless atmosphere on national TV.

Hayward has 3 advantages over Austin for major track meets.

1. The stadium is honestly much, much better
2. The track is faster
3. The weather is usually much better for the athletes and spectators

1 and 2 could be "easily" taken care of with a re-model. It would be costly, but add some seatbacks and some shade along with a world-class track surface. The heat....yeahhhhh, maybe they could figure out a way to "AC" the stadium like they did for the World Cup in Qatar

That's about the only advantages Hayward really has. Austin is wayyyy easier to get in and out of. Way more to do. More places to eat. More places to stay.

If you've been to both places, which one would you honestly want to go back to for track and hanging out for a long weekend or even an Olympic Trials? Again, fix 1 and 2 above and there is no debate.

No one wants to have to fly into Portland and drive 2 hours to Eugene.

Who cares if the track is faster when the 1500,5K, and 10K are usually tactical.

It was never track town usa. Marty Liquori had it right-- Track Town of Lane County.

Hayward track is not faster than the University of Texas track. There is far more things to do in Austin as opposed to Eugene. The best part is you can take a flight directly into Austin and tons of hotels and restaurants to choose from. The nightlife is far better in Austin as well. Hayward has a very nice T&F stadium and that's it! However, it should no longer be called Track Town USA.

Eugene in general is going to sh!t. The homeless are everywhere, even more so than before, and folks smoking meth pipes out in the open. It’s extremely sad to see the people’s decline, but also Eugene’s.

the problem here as well is who actually bids to host these meets, half the time its just Eugene...

Do you want to prioritize the fan experience over what’s best for the athletes?

Structural Reforms are due. We need no-bid model and site selection committee with open public meetings on Zoom, no backdoor agreements, no secret deals.

Current 10-day forecast for Austin: Highs in the mid-90's every day, dewpoints in the 70s every day, chance of meet-delaying thunderstorms most days. No thank you.

Also, I think most athletes and spectators could give a crap which location has the better dance clubs.

Did you tell UT to bid for it? If not, what's the point of complaining about Eugene all the time?

Delete the bid process. Full transparency by internet.

Of course, that is how you get a popular sport with lots of money.

I have never been to Austin. I would go if Trials were held there.

I have never been to Hayward and you couldn't pay me to go there. Well you could, but it would break your bank.

I can't see the town of Eugene bidding to host these meets. And even if they were bidding, don't organizers reflect the locale's ability to host? I suspect Nike is the one doing the bidding. Eugene is just a front for Nike.