Whats the deal? There are buildings far bigger than it would take to cover a 400m track.
Whats the deal? There are buildings far bigger than it would take to cover a 400m track.
There is one being built in Canada....
"The air-supported superdome, which will measure 660 feet long, 200 feet wide and 71 feet high, would cover the country's first 400-metre indoor track. There are more than 20 fieldhouses in Canada with 200-metre tracks, but not one is in Ottawa, although there have been several attempts to build one during the past three decades."
First of all, who's gonna pay for it? Proceeds from track meets? I think not.
Second, it would be an oversize indoor track, and no records would count. Or am I wrong on that?
I can't remember which school it is, but I believe there is one in Utah.
In Germany. Back in the day, the East Germans spared no expense, and I'm pretty sure they had not only a fully enclosed 400M track alone, but the facility had plenty of room to spare.
Um...ever heard of THe University of Notre Dame...yeah they have one....they are just not very popular because times are docked for being over sized
Actually, Notre Dame's track is not quite 400m, though it is close. I believe it is 5 laps to the mile, so approximately 321m.
idealist wrote:
First of all, who's gonna pay for it? Proceeds from track meets? I think not.
According to the media reports, it will be paid for by the school board, who somehow expect to recoup their investment in a few years. Also note the dimensions listed above. Think you can fit a 400m track into a 200 foot width?
Second, it would be an oversize indoor track, and no records would count. Or am I wrong on that?
According to the IAAF, there are two classes of records: world records, which can be set anywhere (including indoors) and indoor records (which, obviously, must be set indoors).
An OUTDOOR 400 meter world record can not be run on an indoor surface.
Notre Dame's track was completely redone(new mondo and markings) over the summer. It is now 5 laps to the 1600m(so 320m instead of 321.8m). The splits were too confusing before. It is the largest collegiate track in the country. I think Kent, Iowa State, and some others have 300m.
The track in Utah is something like 440m or 450m. I think it was built over the old speed skating track. I imagine it is fast, but being at altitude isn't attractive to most distance runners.
There are two lanes of mondo around the indoor Olympic Speedskating Oval in Calgary. One lap is approx 450m. It\'s an awesome place to run workouts in the winter.
I have a question:
why do indoor tracks often have huge banks on the turns, but outdoor tracks have no banks at all??
Think about it, the indoor 200m track is half the size of an outdoor track, so why not have outdoor tracks with banks half the size of an indoor track??
If the banks indoors help the sprinters (especially), a smaller bank would still be useful outdoors, correct? Clearly in a 200 or 400, a small bank on the turns would help (and maybe even in the 800 and 1500 at the speed today world-class guys go).
Outdoor tracks have evolved surface-wise, why not bank-wise???????????
Asterix wrote:According to the media reports, it will be paid for by the school board, who somehow expect to recoup their investment in a few years. Also note the dimensions listed above. Think you can fit a 400m track into a 200 foot width?Like I said, it's the recoup-ing that I have my doubts about. There's a lot of empty (i.e., no paying seats) space in a 400m indoor facility.
Second, it would be an oversize indoor track, and no records would count. Or am I wrong on that?
According to the IAAF, there are two classes of records: world records, which can be set anywhere (including indoors) and indoor records (which, obviously, must be set indoors).
I had been told that it can't be an indoor record if the track is longer than 200m. "Outdoor," well, I suppose that counts. Didn't the Montreal Olympic Stadium have a roof?
hurdled400 wrote:
An OUTDOOR 400 meter world record can not be run on an indoor surface.
Read what I wrote again. According to the IAAF (look it up, rule 260, specifically paragraphs 8 and 18), there is no such thing as an OUTDOOR world record. They keep:
- World Records
- Indoor World Records and
- World Junior Records
idealist wrote:
Like I said, it's the recoup-ing that I have my doubts about. There's a lot of empty (i.e., no paying seats) space in a 400m indoor facility.
You aren't the only one with doubts about the financials.
I had been told that it can't be an indoor record if the track is longer than 200m. "Outdoor," well, I suppose that counts. Didn't the Montreal Olympic Stadium have a roof?
For indoor records, see IAAF rule 260, paragraph 21, which limits indoor track records to tracks less than 201.2m (220 yards).
The Big 'Owe' in Montreal was supposed to have a retractable roof in place for the 76 Olympics. They got something in place about 14 years later, but was so poorly designed and implemented that it couldn't be retracted. Then it started tearing.
Just say no wrote:
Outdoor tracks have evolved surface-wise, why not bank-wise???????????
Because it would likely not be in compliance with IAAF rule 160 regarding outdoor tracks.
Kind of funny, since the older crowd considers virtually all modern indoor tracks to be oversized.
Any of you young whippersnappers that haven't run a 160 yarder have no idea what you missed. But then, I have abnormally sharp elbows.
I believe the track in Ottawa is going to be 6 lanes, so the dimensions are not an issue. The facility is also for various sports, not just a track, so soccer, touch footbal, ultimate, etc. will also provide revenue. There is no reason to think this facility would be any less profitable than an outdoor facility. It's not like you CAN'T use it in the summer months, but it will likely be extremely popular in the winter months.
Outdoor tracks, by rule, have a limit of 1% bank. You can barely notice it, but most outdoor tracks do have this slight bank.
I'm no physicist, but going from 400m to 200m isn't a linear thing, its some exponential relationship. I mean, you don't just double the steepness of a 400m track to a 200m track.
Well, I'm sort of an older guy and I don't miss the 160-yard 11-lap to a mile tracks one bit. The 200-meter tracks are vastly preferrable.
There are very few buildings in any major U.S. city that could accomodate a 400-meter indoor track. And, frankly, is there any pressing need for them?