Once the home to running legend Steve Prefontaine, a 1973 University alumnus and record-setting Olympian, Eugene is widely considered the capital of the running world. So what better place to host the 2008 United States Olympic Track and Field Trials than Track Town USA?
Next summer, for the fourth time, the Olympic Trials will take place at the University’s Hayward Field, which has also hosted nine NCAA Track and Field Championships and six U.S. Track and Field Championships.
The Oregon Track Club submitted the bid to host the competition in August 2005. That October, 17 representatives from USA Track & Field, the sport’s national governing body, selected Eugene over fellow finalists Carson, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; and Sacramento, Calif.
Approximately 1,100 athletes from across the country, an estimated dozen of whom attend or attended the University, will compete in 21 different events for the chance to represent the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Olympics, which will take place in Beijing next August.
Every aspect of the Olympic Trials is being overseen by the steering committee of Eugene 08, the event’s local organizing committee. The 12-member committee consists of University officials, and local government officials and business representatives, including Kari Westlund, president and CEO of Convention & Visitors Association of Lane County Oregon.
Michael Reilly, the University’s assistant athletic director, will serve as meet director, while the two co-chairs will be former Oregon Track Club President Greg Erwin and Vin Lananna, associate athletic director and director of track & field and cross country at the University.
“There are probably two significant pieces of the Eugene 08 effort,” Lananna said.
The first, he continued, involves upgrading the facility. To prepare for the event, Hayward Field will have a $7.93 million renovation that includes new lights and a video scoreboard, reconfigured traffic patterns, painting and repairs. There will also be temporary amenities, such as a media tribune and expanded seating capacity to accommodate the 15,000 spectators and 1,100 media projected to attend each of the trials’ eight days.
Over the course of the trials, there will be 11 hours of live television.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the University to tell a story about its decades of, more or less, a love affair with the sport,” Lananna said. “It’s one of the intangibles that helped the Eugene 08 group win the bid.”
The second refers to lodging, transportation and entertainment for the tourists and the athletes, as well as their coaches and loved ones.
The Eugene 08 Festival will run concurrent to the Olympic Trials. Open to ticket holders and the general public alike, the festival will surround Hayward Field on East 15th Avenue and Agate Street.
“We’re calling it the superblock,” said Tom Jordan, who along with Barbara Kousky, is one of the Olympic Trials project managers.
Jordan said the Eugene 08 Festival is a way to make the competition special.
“No other Olympic trials have ever tried anything this ambitious,” he said.
Featuring live entertainment, food vendors, expo booths, a jumbo video screen with simulcast of the competition and a sports bar, among others, the festival will also serve to let everyone in on the action.
“The idea is that you don’t need a ticket to enjoy the Olympic Trials,” Jordan said. “We want this to be fun for everyone, whether they were able to get tickets or not.”
Qualifying athletes will be housed in numerous locations throughout Eugene, including the Valley River Inn, the University’s Living Learning Center and several hotels on Franklin Boulevard. The Eugene Hilton, the largest hotel in the area, will be available to the top-ranking athletes.
Jody Hall the Hilton’s general manager, said that all 274 rooms will be filled for the duration of the Olympic Trials.
“It’s exciting to host the trials here,” Hall said. “It’s going to be a great thing for the city.”
Lananna agrees.
“We’re selecting to go to Beijing, the number one team in the world,” he said, “so it’s a great thing for the city, it’s a great thing for the entire community.”
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Track Town USA gets ready to host the Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2008
Daily Emerald
September 18, 2007
Dave Martinez | Freelance Photographer
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