Who's with me? Sign me up for NCAA XC at Chambers Bay on Puget Sound in Washington.

I grew up about a half mile from Chambers Bay, and I used to run by there on an almost daily basis. I've only been back a few times in the last 10 years, but I don't think things have changed too much. A few thoughts:

1) Yes! Get nationals out there. Having NCAA XC on the West coast would be nice for a change.

2) With that being said, don't run nationals there if the course is going to be similar to the map that was already posted... boring. As was already mentioned, that section of grass is flatter, while the actual golf course is much more interesting.

3) This would be a spectators dream course if set up properly as people could position themselves up on the hill and see a good portion of the race without even moving (as long as they bring binoculars). Maybe they could use this to their advantage with the tv broadcast as well?

4) Not much of a home field advantage for UW, as Chambers Bay is about an hour away from Seattle (not a good or bad thing, I just thought it was worth mentioning).

5) I know that they have general logistical issues worked out already since the US Open was held there, but friends still living nearby said that it was kind of a nightmare, as the road had to be shut down near Chambers Bay, and people coming to the tournament had to park at local schools to take a shuttle over due to limited parking at the golf course (I believe that the University of Puget Sound may even have been a shuttle location and that is a 20-25 minute drive away). Now, I have never been to NCAA XC, so I don't know how it is run, or how many people show up (I'm sure it is much less than the US Open), but I do worry that the logistical issues associated with holding nationals at Chambers Bay would be more cost prohibitive than at other locations.

6) If you want to go to Washington as a tourist, I don't know how good of a location this is. Seattle isn't too far away, but it is still an hour away, and if people are on a time crunch like I usually am when I travel then it may be hard to make it up there. Tacoma is closer (most people would probably end up getting hotels in Tacoma as there aren't many close to the golf course), but the only tourist location that comes to mind is the museum of glass.

7) On the other hand, maybe I am just jaded as I have been to Seattle many times and I am sick of big cities. Now, being poor, I can't afford to take long vacations so I spend as little time on the road as possible. The demographic that likes to be touristy may love the change in scenery.

8) There is a great running culture in the Pacific Northwest. Attendance may be less than normal, but people on the West coast that usually wouldn't go to NCAA's due to the distance will jump at the chance if it is close to home.

Never been to Seattle? You guys should come for a UW indoor meet.

we used to race this course for a 5k in high school, flat, fast, big loops around the grass field at the bottom of the big hill, then heading back into the driving range, would be a sick spot to hold Nats, good spots to watch

HardLoper wrote:

Never been to Seattle? You guys should come for a UW indoor meet.

Be not confused, people. For a meet held at Chambers Bay, it is almost guaranteed that no team would stay or venture into Seattle unless it was a special trip after competing.

Chambers Bay is on the southernmost end of Tacoma, and there is nowhere to stay in the area immediately around the golf course . To sell this as a Seattle event would be the same as saying that a meet in Palo Alto is in San Francisco.

Ghost of Steilacoom wrote:

HardLoper wrote:

Never been to Seattle? You guys should come for a UW indoor meet.

Be not confused, people. For a meet held at Chambers Bay, it is almost guaranteed that no team would stay or venture into Seattle unless it was a special trip after competing.

Chambers Bay is on the southernmost end of Tacoma, and there is nowhere to stay in the area immediately around the golf course . To sell this as a Seattle event would be the same as saying that a meet in Palo Alto is in San Francisco.

Correct. Rojo, you say you've "never been to Seattle," but if you came to a XC meet at Chambers Bay you still wouldn't have been to Seattle. The airport is not in Seattle, either. You would have to make a point of going to Seattle.

They should have the NCAA XC at Bandon Dunes. But that is a truly great course, and I can't imagine them allowing a XC meet. And most of you guys would really, really, grouse about getting there.

I'm not involved, but obviously they got the full support of Chambers Bay before placing the bid. My understanding is that the course will be on the actual golf course, not the area they use for the high school meet.

If you look at UW Track's twitter, they had a little test run dual meet at Chambers Bay early in the season this year. I have no idea if that meet was replicating the course they wanted to use for NCAAs or not.

Parking is a legitimate concern, though it should not be nearly the issue it was for the US Open.

Lots of affordable hotels in Tacoma and SeaTac. It's not the easiest trip for east coast teams, but Seattle is easier to fly to than Portland or Eugene.

You won't get as many people traveling to the meet to watch, but cross country is pretty strong in this part of the country, if they market it right they should be able to get a decent number of local runners and high school kids out.

Agree with those who say you aren't going to see Seattle unless you go out of your way to make extra time. The airport is south of Seattle and Tacoma is south of there and Chambers Bay isn't even technically in Tacoma, it is past it.

Hotels should be easy to get, there aren't many events that time of year and the Tacoma Sports Commission is really enthusiastic about these kinds of events.

I think it would be great, hope it works out!

If rojo says he wants to go to Seattle it would not be difficult to go

I'd go. I feel like the parents and family will go anyway whether they have to fly or not.

let's get Broadmoor involved and make this a real Seattle event.

Ghost of Steilacoom wrote:

HardLoper wrote:

Never been to Seattle? You guys should come for a UW indoor meet.

Be not confused, people. For a meet held at Chambers Bay, it is almost guaranteed that no team would stay or venture into Seattle unless it was a special trip after competing.

Chambers Bay is on the southernmost end of Tacoma, and there is nowhere to stay in the area immediately around the golf course . To sell this as a Seattle event would be the same as saying that a meet in Palo Alto is in San Francisco.

And yet we have the San Francisco 49ers all the way down in Santa Clara...

I'm all for getting the meet out of the Midwest every once in a while.

but aren't the sites picked thru like the next 5+ years already?