So long Hayward Field...

Don't you have mediocre soccer team that you can give the stadium to after the championships? It's what happens here in the UK all the time!

Bummer. Good memories from an early 80s stint living in Eugene.

Eamon Coughlan with a breezy 5000 win in his WC gold year.

Matt Centrowitz AR 5000 with pace set by Alberto

Henry Rono/Salazar 10,000 duel to the wire.

Fast miles with Craig Masback/John Walker/Tom Byers

Carl Lewis stomping the field in the 100

So much more

David B's TV SEAL Team wrote:

Les wrote:

Nike paid for the World Championships. Follow the money.

If that's the case then the FBI wants to see Nike pay from their own corporate accounts and not use UO money, nor taxpayer money. Otherwise there will be indictments.

Why? What law will have been broken?

What are you guys talking about ? There is nothing historic about crappy bleachers. The mystic of Eugene is the town, weather, history, performances, fans. Replacing those bleachers does nothing to any of that.

Eugene has more then enough hotels and Airbnb to satisfy any crowd. The bleachers can be covered after the event . I was hoping all along that those East side pillars would be the first to go.

Fraud

Jefe in the CO wrote:

What are you guys talking about ? There is nothing historic about crappy bleachers. The mystic of Eugene is the town, weather, history, performances, fans. Replacing those bleachers does nothing to any of that.

Eugene has more then enough hotels and Airbnb to satisfy any crowd. The bleachers can be covered after the event . I was hoping all along that those East side pillars would be the first to go.

Hayward is basically the Wrigley Field of track and field. Yea, parts of it might be dumpy, but it’s all part of the experience.

It’s bigger than the grandstand, though. It appears that the stadium renovation is turning into a giant quagmire, along with an FBI investigation of potential shenanigans involving Nike.

milermb wrote:

Don't you have mediocre soccer team that you can give the stadium to after the championships? It's what happens here in the UK all the time!

There is the Portland Timbers MLS team. I always thought that World Champs in Portland with a stadium that could serve mainly as a soccer stadium afterwards would have been a better long term solution than renovating cozy Hayward in tiny Eugene. The Timbers stadium was renovated a few years ago, but it’s ancient and I’m sure completely new digs or a more serious renovation would have been nice.

I can’t believe this thread. A US corporation is offering to invest millions of dollars in a dying sport. Progress is the way of the future. We can’t get all sentimental and bleary eyed about the locker room where Saint Pre put his socks on.

Americans love nike. Americans love big shiny stadiums. This will be a HUGE beacon to the nation, bringing tons of attention to the sport. Get ready for another great running boom as a generation of young Americans is exposed to the sport.

Like Goe reported the IAAF came out to prompt people to get moving on 2021 Worlds. The FBI Investigation earlier had stymied progress. My guess is most of the individuals had never done a fully transparent, legal, public project such as IAAF Worlds before, and that they will be fired soon and replaced by outsiders who have the required experience.

Small town mentality wrote:

I can’t believe this thread. A US corporation is offering to invest millions of dollars in a dying sport. Progress is the way of the future. We can’t get all sentimental and bleary eyed about the locker room where Saint Pre put his socks on.

Americans love nike. Americans love big shiny stadiums. This will be a HUGE beacon to the nation, bringing tons of attention to the sport. Get ready for another great running boom as a generation of young Americans is exposed to the sport.

That's just wrong. If the Cubs tore down Wrigley Field or the Red Sox tore down Fenway and replaced them with a "big shiny stadium" people would not love it. It would destroy a big part of the attraction, which is the historic character. Updating is fine, like the Cubs have done with Wrigley, but you have to preserve the essential historic character.

A shiny new stadium will not bring tons of attention to the sport. It will be a white elephant that will just look empty most of the time like track meets in football stadium.

I respect Lananna's ambition to bring Worlds to the US, but wrecking the mystique of Tracktown USA to do is not worth it. Good architects could come up with plans to upgrade the existing facilities and to build substantial but temporary seating that can be taken down after Worlds when it will no longer be needed. That seems like a much better solution.

They replaced Yankee stadium in 2009 with a bigger stadium

If the stadium is knocked down that is on the University and its conceivably its funders (Phil Knight), not Vin Lananna. Vin works for the University and can try and influence but he's not the ultimate decision maker. But a modern stadium still in TrackTown in the same location isn't going to hurt the sport. Baseball has survived a new Yankee stadium (same location), most of the old English soccer stadiums are being replaced, etc.

Dromano19 wrote:

They replaced Yankee stadium in 2009 with a bigger stadium

contrary to New Yorkers who think they are the center of the world, Yankee Stadium is NOT an iconic baseball stadium

The House That Bowerman Built is now, both literally and figuratively, The House That Knight Tore Down

Maybe I'm missing something but what, exactly, is so iconic about the current bleachers? Is it the mystic lore of the pillars blocking your view, the creaky wood press box with exposed wiring, the lack of amenities?

Maybe it's the small stature of the place that makes it feel bigger than it really is. I really can't figure out why people are bitching.

As you mentioned, good architects can preserve all that with a modern, state of the art, structure.

I will have to admit that I almost fell off the toilet this morning laughing when Wejo suggested Austin being a possible replacement. Yeah, racing, or even watching, a 5k run at 2 pm in Austin would be so much fun in the summer.

What makes Eugene really work is their geographical location. It is a lot like Scandinavian track stadiums, weather that supports both distance runners and sprinters, small stadiums (less than 40,000 seats), motivated, local fans, with billboards hyping up the event/athletes. There is no where else in the US that could pull off what Eugene provides. So any improvements to those bleachers would be good for the sport.

allYOUcan3AT wrote:

wejo wrote:

What stadiums as is are close to having capacity?

Drake University is just over 14,500. They're grateful for this debacle and the opportunity to potentially host USA's more often.

Yeah but no one else is excited about having to go to this sh!t hole...hell, I'd rather go to Haiti for the meet. I already decided not to go to USA's this year based solely on the fact that it's in Des Moines.

rojo wrote:

I'm hearing some fascinating rumors about some stuff in Eugene. Hopefully we can confirm it all soon.

Can't you just post rumors anonymously and without confirming them? Isn't that what these boards are for?

Pope T-Bag II wrote:

allYOUcan3AT wrote:

Drake University is just over 14,500. They're grateful for this debacle and the opportunity to potentially host USA's more often.

Yeah but no one else is excited about having to go to this sh!t hole...hell, I'd rather go to Haiti for the meet. I already decided not to go to USA's this year based solely on the fact that it's in Des Moines.

You clearly haven't been to Des Moines in the last few years. Downtown and surrounding area is much improved and there has been a ton of investment put into the area. Where else would you suggest NCAA's be held? I think it's interesting that every other major sport moves around their respective championship game, yet NCAA's or USA's are almost always in Eugene. Increasing the number of venues where championships can be held is good for the sport, not holing it up in one place based on history, legend, weather, etc.

More out of curiosity does anybody know if its possible to put a track in an American Football stadium? Because there is a 54K+ capacity stadium right next to hayward field.