Say it ain't so: Johnson County CC in Kansas City planning on shutting down track program and demolishing its track

Thank you so much rojo for posting this. It is greatly appreciated. I hope the running community will help us with reaching our goal of saving this program. If anyone would like to attend the walk, or would like to list as attending to show support, our community would greatly appreciate it!

That is terrible to see!

I am from Kansas City and for how a great of a city it is, the running infrastructure is terrible. I mean that there are very few trails, no indoor tracks (JCCC is the only indoor facility). The closest indoor track is KU, then MU and then the new Pitt State 300m track.

There are no collegiate meets to my knowledge held in KC either. Again, the closest races are at KU and MU. KC has a few programs, too: UMKC, Park College, JCCC, Mid America Nazarene.

At then end she said something about adding soccer,football and......SOFTBALL fields?? What in the hell? Who is watching...Softball? Cut softball leave track and XC tf.

Exactly. They feel extra fields would benefit the community over a track. This track gets used by High Schools, track programs and people in the community that just want to walk or jog it. Their are plenty of soccer, softball and baseball fields all over the city, they don't actually need additional ones.

I’m part of the small group that that started this initiative to save the track and XC programs. I also ran at JCCC my freshman year. This is the only public track near this area and is also used by the adjoining high school. That high school fears hey will have to kill their track program because there will be nowhere for them to practice. This unfortunate decision has an impact beyond just the college. It would be a shame to see them not reverse this decision for so many reasons. Spread the word and come to our event. College athletes, high school athletes, and the general public deserve to be heard.

- Nick

runrskckass wrote:

Exactly. They feel extra fields would benefit the community over a track. This track gets used by High Schools, track programs and people in the community that just want to walk or jog it. Their are plenty of soccer, softball and baseball fields all over the city, they don't actually need additional ones.

"When the college rips up the track in summer 2018, it plans to add new fields for softball, soccer and baseball.

Weber said they get more rental requests for those fields than the track.

Construction is expected to be done by fall 2018."

It looks like the demand for softball, baseball and soccer fields is greater. Maybe they should have been charging a fee to use the track.

Someone asked who is watching softball. Who is watching JC track? (or any track?)

isnt this the school that maurice greene started at? i think he ran 10.5 there and then dropped to like 9.98 in one year with john smith

m!ndweak wrote:

isnt this the school that maurice greene started at? i think he ran 10.5 there and then dropped to like 9.98 in one year with john smith

Maurice didn't attend JCCC. He was a student at Kansas City Kansas Community College (about a 20 minute drive from JCCC), but never competed for them.

To add a bit more detail about the high school next door that uses this track. They've won five of the last six girls 5A state cross country titles, as well as the last four boys cross country titles. Their boys are 2-time defending state track champs.

They need to jack up those rates that they charge St Thomas Aquinas (a private school) to use their track I guess. Sad to see them shutting down for sure. Maybe there needs to be an expansion to other sports complexes in the area to add additional fields instead of adding something like a whopping 2 softball fields in place of that track.

KC, Overland Park particularly, need another soccer field like I need a hole in my head. I'm blaming Trump, or at least Brownback. Reap=Sow.

First Brownback tax cuts, now this, Kansas is really eatin crap rn

m!ndweak wrote:

isnt this the school that maurice greene started at? i think he ran 10.5 there and then dropped to like 9.98 in one year with john smith

I'm not sure about the times but I know that he hero worshipped Ben Johnson, which says it all.

I wonder if they could pull up the track in segments and ship the track to me.

They are removing a track for more softball, baseball, and soccer fields? I hate to break it to them, all of those wont fit into that space.

Of course, if they were smart, they would save the money of demolishing the track by turning the infield into a soccer field. Now you get to have both in one space. Move the throws out to the outfield of the softball or baseball fields.

Track is one of the fundental sports, I cant imagine having any sports if you dont have track.

I suspect they are hiding something. Track & Field does not cost that much. No mention was made of basketball and they happen to have some excellent teams there. To rip up an excellent track is Captain Insano!!!

The Alumni who ran for all those teams should be up in arms. I would think this will reduce their fundraising. My college dropped track & field many years ago. They have never received one red cent from me and they never will until they resume that program! (I'm not holding my breath, but I do know why they dropped it---football.)

I live a long ways from Kansas City but this burns me up, and it should the rest of the LRC community as well.

In fact this is what is happening all over America. We have the best high school track & field system in the world. The fact is many good kids have no where to go after college. What would have happened to all those great athletes with out JCCC?

Indeed what is happening to track & field in our country?

One of the reasons the sport is in trouble is it depends too heavily on the high school and collegiate system.

Much better to build a club system that can't be taken away by some

knuckle headed bureaucrats, especially bureaucrats who think softball is a sport.

But nothing good will happen as long as Nike is in control of USATF.

Coffee Monster wrote:

That is terrible to see!

I am from Kansas City and for how a great of a city it is, the running infrastructure is terrible. I mean that there are very few trails, no indoor tracks (JCCC is the only indoor facility). The closest indoor track is KU, then MU and then the new Pitt State 300m track.

There are no collegiate meets to my knowledge held in KC either. Again, the closest races are at KU and MU. KC has a few programs, too: UMKC, Park College, JCCC, Mid America Nazarene.

You've overlooked the fact that Central Missouri has newly resurfaced indoor facility that hosts several meets throughout the year, and is far closer than MU is. JCCC often brought members of their track teams to said meets, and competed well.

That being said, I 100% agree with your statement that the KC running infrastructure is a bit lacking for a city that large, but what do you expect with our sport?

Say it ain't so. I will not go. Turn the lights of. Carry me home.