The University athletic department has come down with a seasonal illness – indoor track facility envy, brought on by a recent visit to Texas A&M University.
Leaders of the athletic department, especially athletic director Pat Kilkenny and track and field coach Vin Lananna, want to bring an indoor track to campus, but the plans are still in the hypothetical stage at best.
Lananna and Kilkenny visited Gilliam Indoor Track and Field Stadium at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas during the week of Jan. 17. Both were impressed by the new facility, which boasts music, a video screen and grandstands close to the track, said Texas A&M spokesperson Shawn Price.
Construction spending on athletic facilities
Matthew Knight Arena: | $200 million, broke ground in 2009 |
Autzen Stadium: | $90 million, renovation in 2002 |
PK Park: | $15 to $20 million, over the course of several years |
Hayward Field: | $8 million, renovations for the Olympic Trials in 2008 |
Lananna told The Register-Guard on Jan. 24, “We could use a good place dedicated to being able to get accustomed to competing indoors.”
Kilkenny and Lananna were invited to visit Gilliam Stadium by Bill Byrne, who was athletic director at Oregon between 1984 and 1992, when he was called “Bill the Builder” because of his enthusiasm for large building projects.
Athletic department spokesperson Greg Walker said an indoor facility would add one more piece to having a complete track program at the University. He said it is “definitely on the wish list.”
Walker said the University has not picked a location, a design, a timeline or a budget for such a project. It has not even been confirmed it will happen, he said.
Without an indoor facility, the University can’t host some events, Walker said. Indoor track meets involve events that outdoor meets don’t, such as the mile race and the 60-meter sprint. And of course, an indoor track is protected from the Oregon rain.
The University track team currently participates in indoor meets, but not on campus. According to the University of Washington athletic department’s Web site, Stanford, UCLA and the University “compete almost exclusively at Dempsey Indoor during the collegiate indoor season.” Dempsey Indoor is the indoor facility at Washington.
While the University has not yet decided whether it will build an indoor track and has therefore not set a budget, a facility like the one the athletic department envisions would likely cost between $30 million and $40 million.
Gilliam Stadium cost $35.8 million and took more than two years to build, said Kevin Hurley, spokesperson for Texas A&M.
The Dempsey Indoor stadium cost $28.9 million to build in 2000, said University of Washington spokesperson Sheila Donavon.
The University doesn’t have a plan for a new track, either. Dempsey Indoor is 80,000 square feet and Gilliam Stadium is 115,440 square feet, but it holds two football fields as well.
The University track team will try out Texas A&M’s stadium on March 13 and 14 for the NCAA Track and Field National Championships.
Lananna expects to enjoy using the facility. He told the Register-Guard, “My first impression is that it’s a beautiful new facility. They’ve done some creative things in terms of the layout of the facility … and I think that will create a good, competitive environment.”
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