Why the stands were half full in Des Moines

Des Moines is French for "This sucks."

i must agree Des Moines is a great place for track but in mid summer why the heck would anyone want to put there hard earnings into a trip to iowa and not a pace like california where there is so much you can do other then running.

I'd be fine with Hayward Field EVERY YEAR. Eugene LOVES track and field; you can't find that anywhere else. The stage that Hayward Field sets is made for TV excitement.

And, let's not sell Des Moines and Drake completely short. They host a FANTASTIC event in April, the Drake Relays; one that regularly fills seats to near-capacity. I was expecting a much better crowd for the National Championships. Their excitement for T&F must be limited to the Drake Relays.

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laxmack117 wrote:

i must agree Des Moines is a great place for track but in mid summer why the heck would anyone want to put there hard earnings into a trip to iowa and not a pace like california where there is so much you can do other then running.

You suck at English.

"put THEIR hard earnings..." and "other THAN running."

Helps that it is during school and a lot of the Drake runners and associated town people treat it as a huge drinking party...draws a lot that way..I am surprised that this hasn't been brought up in any stories I've skimmed about the attendance.

I might have read it wrong but on the front page the article about the drake people being upset about attendance said that they still had better total attendance than oregon had last year. Its just that Drake stadium is bigger.

I wasn't at Drake last week, and have never been to Hayward, so I can't comment on the atmosphere.

But in terms of capacity, Drake Stadium holds 14,557. Hayward Field holds 10,500. So there were 4,000 extra seats in Des Moines.

Like I said I have no idea what the atmosphere there was like, and I'm sure anyone running further than 400m wasn't excited about the heat. But I also think holding it every year in Oregon would limit the appeal of track and field around the country.

who knows wrote:

I might have read it wrong but on the front page the article about the drake people being upset about attendance said that they still had better total attendance than oregon had last year. Its just that Drake stadium is bigger.

Only in the Des Moines Register newspaper fantasy land and a Letsrun team that's too lazy to do fact checking.

The Eugene 2009 USATF attendance was a USATF 4 day meet record-38,441 (8621+9134+10,053+10,633)

Bad weather places like Des Moines, Indy, Eugene, Fayetteville are a disaster for our sport in June. But nobody cares about Oly sports and we are relegated to 3rd tier shit towns like those mentioned.

Bad weather places like Des Moines, Indy, Eugene, Fayetteville are a disaster for our sport in June. But nobody cares about Oly sports and we are relegated to 3rd tier shit towns like those mentioned."

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Another glass is half empty poster. The fact is the weather is normally beautiful this time of year in Eugene. Fayettevelle and Des Moines are charming towns with lots to do for those who have an open mind and will venture a bit. The people in all these towns are fabulously friendly, and proud of their town. Compare these places to the options, and you will understand why T&F is relegated to holding championship meets in places that (a) support our sport; (b) will actually bid for these meets; (c) care about the athletes and visitors; (d) have facilities that provide a decent experience for everyone.

The weather is always at nature's mercy, the rest is not. Keep bringing these meets to places like Eugene and Des Moines.

D. Douglas Dent wrote:

Des Moines is French for "This sucks."

No, no it does not.

Lofty statements are nice. But the last few years' sites have been disasters weatherwise. Des Moines, Fayettville, Eugene, Austin, Indy are not suitable for championships in the months of June to September. Sprints are best in the heated afternoons, distances in the cool nites. Both must have a 99% probability of having no humidity, no pollen, no rain, no lightning, no thunder, and no fog, according to historical weather charts maintained by NOAA / NWS. Our sport is too small for primo locations in 1st Class media centers and we have to suffer for it.

But to be fair, Des Moines did a great job for their stature as communities. So has Eugene, Fayetteville, Indy, Austin, Baton, Durham, Boise, etc. which I've been to. You can't expect world class event that you would get in Berlin, Los Angeles, Osaka, Paris, Athens, etc.

The weather is always at nature's mercy

they need to try franklin field just once...

Bad Weather wrote:

Lofty statements are nice. But the last few years' sites have been disasters weatherwise. Des Moines, Fayettville, Eugene, Austin, Indy are not suitable for championships in the months of June to September. Sprints are best in the heated afternoons, distances in the cool nites. Both must have a 99% probability of having no humidity, no pollen, no rain, no lightning, no thunder, and no fog, according to historical weather charts maintained by NOAA / NWS. Our sport is too small for primo locations in 1st Class media centers and we have to suffer for it.

You flunked Eugene climatology. If you know anything about west coast climate, you would be aware there is a pronounced dry season during the summer over Oregon and California with persistent high atmospheric pressure, blue skies, few rainy days, and only rare thunderstorms. Eugene tends to have sunny warm dry 80's during the day and cool 50's at night. Almost ideal.

NCAA 2010 in Eugene was a disaster again. It rained like hell and was miserable for the athletes. There should never be any T&F championships held in Eugene during June, July, and August.

thanks for that. you really added a lot to this thread.