Hayward Field has been called everything from the Carnegie Hall of track and field to the track capital of the United States. From its traditional wooden bleachers to the oval-shaped brick-red track, Hayward Field is a lasting icon.
The 14,200-seat track and field facility has served as the home of University track and field teams since 1921, and like any old house, it needs to be preserved.
“Hayward Field looks as good now as it ever has,” said Tom Heinonen, the women’s track and field head coach.
Work crews have the task of year-round upkeep on the stadium. Because it is a high-use area, required by the city to be open 24 hours a day, two signs are posted around the perimeter of the track as a gentle reminder for the public to reserve the inner lanes — especially lane one — primarily for sprinting and timed trials. The outer lanes should be used for walking and jogging.
During winter term, Heinonen said, crews repaired the older east grandstands, and the vertical highbeams of the grandstands were repainted as of Thursday. Tom Jordan, meet director of the 2002 Prefontaine Classic, said water had seeped into the top of the 70-year-old grandstands, and dry rot had formed, which painters discovered last year.
Jordan said this year’s 28th annual Prefontaine Classic event, featuring some of the greatest athletes in the world, is set for May 26.

The 1,000 bleacher seats at the corner of 15th Avenue and Agate Street were removed fall term. There are no plans to replace the condemned bleachers because they are only used for seating at the Prefontaine Classic. But Jordan said recent repairs to 1,200 seats in the east grandstands — a more than $300,000 project — will open up seating for the upcoming meet. Heinonen said Hayward Field is a place that holds pride and character.
“People have been doing victory laps here for decades — spontaneously,” he said.
The loss of the bleacher seats at the corner of 15th and Agate will serve as an opportunity to maintain that unique history, Heinonen said. The area will be transformed to feature monuments to past athletes and coaches, while acting as a gathering space outside the stadium for receptions and offering a permanent concession stand.
Steve McBride, assistant director of internal operations with the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, said upgrading that corner will create an entrance plaza or “front door to the facility.”
“We made a decision to take (the bleachers) out because it was not cost effective to leave them there in terms of the repairs that were needed,” McBride said. From three U.S. Olympic Trials to numerous National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, the long list of achievements of coaches and athletes will be recognized in this space, McBride said. While he said specifics haven’t been defined as to who will be acknowledged or when the project will be completed, an architect has done sketches of potential uses for that space.
McBride added that the “mystique of Hayward Field” has evolved through the series of “Bills” who have coached men’s track and field — Bill Hayward (for whom the field is named), Bill Bowerman, Bill Dellinger and now the present men’s track and field head coach, Martin Smith.
High jumper Rachael Kriz said compared to other track stadiums at colleges she has traveled to so far this season, Hayward Field is best around.
“The overall quality of maintenance at Hayward is superior,” she said.