USA's Premier Athletics Stadium on Schedule

(ATR) Construction on the venue for the next IAAF World Championships in Eugene, Oregon is on schedule.

Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon is undergoing a complete renovation that will turn it into a world-class track and field facility.

The original stadium was built in 1919. Both grandstands were demolished in summer of 2018 when the construction began. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in time for the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships on May 16-17, 2020. The venue is set to host the U.S. Olympic trials for Tokyo 2020 in June.

In order to hit the tight deadline, the construction company plans to work until midnight for as long as 16 weeks until January 31, 2020.

The stadium will have 12,650 permanent seats, about 6,000 covered by the roof. Temporary seats could expand capacity to 30,000 for bigger events like the Olympic Trials or the 2021 IAAF World Championships.

The first row of seats will sit on track level, less than 10 feet (three meters) from the outside lane. All seats will have unobstructed sightlines. There is more seats around the finish line and fewer along the backstretch.

For the athletes, there will be an indoor practice area that includes a six-lane, 140 meter straightaway, as well as areas for long jump, triple jump, throws (surrounded by netting), and pole vault. Besides men’s and women’s locker rooms, there will be a theater, weight room, athlete lounge, an athlete medicine room, hydrotherapy pools and even a barber shop.

A multistory tower that will house meeting rooms and offices will be at one corner of the stadium. An observation deck on the top floor of the tower will be open to the public.

The project, which The Register-Guard of Eugene reports will cost $195 million, is being paid for by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny, along with more than 50 other donors.

Written by Gerard Farek

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