Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on December 12th, 2013
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| Hayward Field in the 1930s. (courtesy: UO Knight Library Special Collections) |
Hayward
Field has been the site of many memorable events in its day. Built in 1919 as a
football facility to replace Kincaid Field for University of Oregon football,
and named in honor of longtime track coach and football trainer Bill Hayward,
it hosted Oregon football for nearly 50 years before Autzen Stadium was built
in 1967. In 1921 a track was added, making it a multi-purpose facility, and
things were, as they say, off and running.
Hayward
has hosted football games, track meets, olympic trials, NCAA championships,
Prefontaine classics, graduation ceremonies, fraternity push cart races,
speeches from famous (and infamous) characters, the site of riots, multiple
movies have been filmed there, and once they even held Olympic Trials for a
team that wouldn’t actually participate in the Olympics (1980 – USA boycotted
the games).
Over
the years it has gone through multiple changes, originally just grandstands on
the east side, it was expanded to grandstands on both sides of the track in the
mid-20s. Then a horseshoe shape was added with endzone seats along with
lighting, a vast renovation in the 50s, and again in the 70s. In the 80s the
east grandstands were elevated and moved to allow for additional lanes to be
added to the track, and the additions of the Bowerman Building and Powell Plaza
have altered the landscape further in recent years.
In
nearly a hundred years of use, Hayward Field has been the site of enough
history to pack several centuries, and with the efforts of Vin Lananna
(University of Oregon Senior Associate Athletic Director and President of
TrackTown USA) to bring the NCAAs and Olympic Trials to Hayward Field, it feels
like the venerable old building is just getting started.
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| Oregon marching band at Hayward Field during halftime of a football game in 1966. (courtesy: UO Knight Library Special Collections) |
It
isn’t just the lore of Hayward Field itself that brings the masses flocking to
Eugene, nor is it that Nike was founded there by the former Oregon track coach
Bill Bowerman and one of his former distance runners Phil Knight…it helps
certainly, but the moniker of TrackTown USA has been hard-earned through the
pain and glory of those who have competed there, and the consistent support of
the sport from the local community at levels unprecedented anywhere else in the
country.
Track
& field is a sport known more on the international stage, in Europe and
parts of Asia it is THE sport, but here it takes a second-tier to the big four
American sports, track & field tending to only gain national notoriety when
international competition in the Olympics is at hand…except in Eugene, where
the community lives and breathes the sport.
Hayward’s
track is the same distance and dimension as other tracks around the country,
the grandstands similar to other stadiums. It is the people, the passionate and
educated track fans that make it a unique place that draws the top athletes in
the sport to Eugene from around the world. Those dedicated fans, and the city
of Eugene, are now being rewarded for their efforts and reputation.
In
an agreement reached on Wednesday, Hayward Field has been named the site of the
NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships through 2021, with Eugene already
being named the host for next year’s championships. Add to it the 2014 IAAF
World Junior Championships, the USA Championships in 2015, and once again the
Track & Field Olympic Trials in 2016, this deal brokered by Lananna ensures
that Hayward Field will be as busy as any track & field facility in the
country for the foreseeable future.
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| The east grandstands were moved back in 1987 to allow for the track to be expanded. (courtesy: UO Knight Library Special Collections) |
It
seems proper, after all. 11 times previously the NCAA Championships have been
held in Eugene, second-most in history behind only Chicago. In addition, five
previous times Hayward Field has hosted the Olympic Trials. Through these
national events, plus consistently strong turnout at meets and the pristine
condition of the facilities today, and Hayward has earned the right to be
considered much more than a typical collegiate track. It is the mecca of
running, the jewel of American track & field, and going forward the
epicenter of the largest amateur and professional track events in the country.
The field may be historic, but it feels ageless.
It’s
a win-win for Eugene, and the university. Oregon gets a distinct homefield
advantage in a sport it has as strong a tradition as any program in the country
(15 mens/womens outdoor national championships, 5 indoor national championships),
and the community gets a much needed economic boom, with the Olympic Trials
reporting a $28 million profit for the 2012 event for the local community. The
announcement of the continued events is great news for local hotels and
restaurants, sure to see the benefits of the crowds descending upon campus.
Hayward
will be bustling, what with the University of Oregon meets, the annual
Prefontaine Classic, championships and trials. The one event that remains on
the wish list for Hayward Field — the outdoor world championships. Following
this new agreement to host the NCAA championships every year for nearly a
decade to come, the world championships too may not be that far off from making
Hayward Field home.
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|
Hayward
may be nearly a century old, but is as active as it has ever been with meets,
championships, and trials upcoming. (courtesy: UO Knight Library Special
Collections)
|
The
one key element that is missing from the Hayward facilities, discussed often —
an indoor facility. Available location is the only prevention from it becoming
a certain reality with no available lands in the immediate area surrounding
Hayward, and considering the grand efforts Vin Lananna has spearheaded to date
there is no doubt continued efforts are being made to figure out a way to make
it a reality at some point. Should an indoor facility come to fruition (likely
more when rather than if), Eugene could become THE permanent fixture, in the
same way Omaha, Neb. is synonymous with the college baseball world series.
Regardless
of whether or not Oregon adds an indoor facility to entrench itself as the
definitive home of USA track & field going forward, Hayward Field in itself
is looking as spry as ever heading into its 95th year, and will have plenty of
opportunities to showcase it and the great crowds Eugene draws to the track on
a national scale.
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