The consecutive cancellations of the Pac-12 Championships, U.S. Olympic Team Trials and Prefontaine Classic meant the first three events slated for the newly-renovated Hayward Field had all been scrapped. This leaves the University of Oregon stadium without any events scheduled in the near future but, following some adjustments to meet social distancing requirements, its construction continues to move forward as planned.
Hayward Field is expected to be completed by this fall and, after two years of construction, the university’s track-and-field program plans to begin training there in the fall, according to UO spokesperson Saul Hubbard.
“While COVID-19 has unfortunately provided some unexpected changes to this summer’s plans, we look forward to hosting the Olympic Trials in 2021 and the World Athletics Championships in 2022,” Hubbard said.
He said contractors across campus are continuing to work on construction projects in keeping with Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” executive order. However, he didn’t directly address why the university elected to move forward with the renovation despite the first few events being postponed.
All contractors working at the university must follow all federal, state and local guidelines, including social distancing among workers, setting up additional hand-washing stations and disinfecting surfaces and objects. Government safety requirements don’t currently require personnel working at the stadium to wear masks, but some subcontractors require it and others are wearing them voluntarily, he said.
There are now fewer personnel working at Hayward Field, which Hubbard said “is in large part attributed to many aspects of the job winding down, as the project nears completion.”
“It has the added advantage of allowing for additional social distancing among the crew of nearly 300 mostly subcontractors. Some tasks were modified to meet guidelines, and others have been deferred,” he said.
Hoffman Construction Company, the contractor for Hayward Field, asked that media inquiries about the stadium’s construction be directed to UO per the university’s request.
The World Athletics Championships, originally scheduled for Aug. 6-15, 2021, have now been postponed to July 15-24, 2022, according to a press release from World Athletics.
The Wanda Diamond League announced the cancellation of the Prefontaine Classic in a statement on April 23.
“As with previous suspensions, this decision was reached in close consultation with all relevant parties and based on concerns over athlete safety as well as widespread travel restrictions which make it impossible to stage the competitions as planned,” according to the statement.
The Prefontaine Classic was originally scheduled for June 7, but meet director Tom Jordan said it became evident that sporting events would not be reopened by June and rescheduling will depend on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state and UO.
The Wanda Diamond League will look to hold the meet at the end of August if “things improve dramatically,” Jordan said.
“However, the virus will have the final say as to whether that is possible or not,” he said. “We should know one way or another by the end of June.”
