Oregon associate athletic director Vin Lananna was prepared to close down last week’s Track Town Tuesdays meeting at Oregon Electric Station in Eugene when he opened up the floor for additional questions.
A member of the crowd asked Lananna how the plans for an indoor track facility were coming along.
“Next question,” Lananna said. The crowd laughed.
Another man admitted the previous question was also his own. Lananna’s expression briefly turned into exasperation.
More laughter.
The worst-kept secret around the Casanova Center is the plan laid by Lananna and the Oregon athletic department to build an indoor track and field facility on campus.
No one knows when construction will begin. We think we know where — the grass intramural field that abuts the corner of East 18th Avenue and Agate Street — but confirmation has been hard to come by.
That’s in large part because Lananna will not talk about the project in any detail.
The day he does, Chip Kelly will begin taking questions about Willie Lyles.
Such a facility would not be a mere spectacle. In cases of inclement weather, Oregon track and field athletes practice under the West Grandstand amid a jumble of anti-gravity treadmills, pole vault stations and the occasional unblocked running lane. The space is functional but has its limitations.
Lananna’s vision — again, best we can tell — is for a world-class facility that would host everything from high school winter meets to IAAF championship meets, and everything in between. That would include the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, as well as various other events.
No more weekend trips up to Seattle to get a qualifying mark. Saves a little on fuel and time spent away from campus.
Presentation is important to Lananna, and in order to get all stakeholders — and season-ticket holders — fully on board with the idea, he will likely announce it on the grandest of stages. The kind where Track Town USA shows its true colors, and roars of support greet every athlete.
Hayward Field will play host to the 2011 USA Track & Field Championships from June 23-26. Next year, it will host the London Olympic Trials for track and field. Hmm.
The pieces to the puzzle of Oregon’s next great facility are floating around, waiting for Lananna to connect them. Or perhaps someone else — financial backers, maybe.
When it is finally built — and I predict that, by 2017, it will be built — Lananna and the Ducks will have spared no expense and no detail. It will provide great vantage points for spectators. Athletes will appreciate the quality of the surfaces on which they will compete.
And, with any luck, the University will be able to divine additional purposes for the facility, to help keep up with operating costs and wear and tear over time. Sustainability should be more than just a buzzword.
But one figures Lananna has thought all this through, right up until the day President Richard Lariviere, the Duck, Ashton Eaton, Andrew Wheating, Phil Knight and whoever else dig their golden shovels into the ground. Buildup is important, right there with execution.
This is why Lananna hosts Track Town Tuesdays during outdoor season, building up exciting events for season-ticket holders, Oregon fans and Eugene’s track and field cognoscenti.
This is why he has left us hints regarding the indoor track facility but will not go on record about anything.
We will keep on asking.
After all, secrets don’t make friends.
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