Eugene awarded 2021 IAAF World Championships

[FYI]

1 hour ago, baron-pierreIV said:

BTW, how old are you?? 

Probably still uses the bottle.

[Quaker2001]

3 hours ago, SportLightning said:

Have a look at the link: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220725-us-mulls-more-events-after-world-championship-success

That's an article from the French press.  And it's terrible journalistm.  Not sure who the "others" are wondering about the 2027 worlds, but if USATF had any interest in that, they would have said so,  It wouldn't have been "they didn't rule it out."

To expand on baron's post.. it took a long time for USC and the Coliseum commission to figure out how to operate.  The agreement in the end was that it's USC's stadium to run, but they need to make it available for an Olympics if need be.  USC sunk $270 million of their own money in recent years in renovations, which is completely separate for the $300 million needed to convert the stadium to handle athletics in 2028.  That temporary overlay is going to go up and come back down as quickly as possible.  They're not going to do it a year early and leave it like that through an entire USC football season.

[Nacre]

Perhaps it is useful to look at it from the other side. What are the actual needs of a track and field stadium in the US?

• USATF national championships and Olympic qualifiers (maximum 15,000 seats needed, usually less)
• NCAA championships (maximum 15,000 seats needed, usually less)
• collegiate conference championships (5,000 seats?)
• regular high school and collegiate meets (1,000 seats?)

Ultimately I think that the ideal is something like Sydney's Olympic Park Athletic Centre: 5,000 permanent seats with 10,000 additional temporary seating in telescopic bleachers or grassy terrace(s). There will never be a need for anything bigger than that for anything other than a once-in-a-lifetime event like the Olympics or world championships. 15,000 seats would even be big enough for the Pan American Games.

[Bull Schmidt]

2 hours ago, Nacre said:

Perhaps it is useful to look at it from the other side. What are the actual needs of a track and field stadium in the US?

• USATF national championships and Olympic qualifiers (maximum 15,000 seats needed, usually less)
• NCAA championships (maximum 15,000 seats needed, usually less)
• collegiate conference championships (5,000 seats?)
• regular high school and collegiate meets (1,000 seats?)

Ultimately I think that the ideal is something like Sydney's Olympic Park Athletic Centre: 5,000 permanent seats with 10,000 additional temporary seating in telescopic bleachers or grassy terrace(s). There will never be a need for anything bigger than that for anything other than a once-in-a-lifetime event like the Olympics or world championships. 15,000 seats would even be big enough for the Pan American Games.

That’s not a bad baseline from which to work. For that matter, I question if Hayward will bother to put up the temporary bleachers they put up for the Worlds when they (very likely) host the next Olympic qualifiers. 12,650 probably does the job for that. 
Back to Philadelphia for one more dream sequence… if the Sixers do get a downtown arena built (due date 2032, for now) and the Flyers decide to go with them (anything but assured), damn I’m clamoring for the “abandoned” Wells Fargo Arena space. It’s not perfectly central, but it’s on the subway from downtown.

Meanwhile, a thought-provoking article regarding the sport from Alan Abrahamson about the position of the sport at present. https://www.3wiresports.com/articles/2022/7/26/dpo71oxg6btrfhx78dlb4jbae0pgs1
 

I differ with maybe half of this. But something to ponder.

I think there was a Twitter response to this suggesting that Los Angeles would actually NOT be a good stage. Thought that was interesting. Then again, when “Mt. Sac” out in the distant suburbs sought to make stadium improvements to accommodate an Olympic Trials and the surrounding residents took them to court, it might be an indication of the limitations of going just any old place.

[baron-pierreIV]

Let's face it.  People are liking the sweaty sports less and less.  And you certainly won't get L'Oreal or Estee Lauder buying ad time for the sweaty sports.  Time to retire Athletics.  Let;s promote Dancesport!!  Tango is so much more exciting and sensual than epole jumping over those stupid hurdles or jumping into that little pond to get their feet wet.  I mean even some horses in Equestrian events don't want to do that.  And to spend $300 mil to retrofit LA Memorial in 2028?  I wonder if COJO will even break even with that investment. 

[yoshi]

I didn't realise they'd need to do a Hampden Park on the Coliseum with a platform. Less costly than a new stadium though 

[Bull Schmidt]

https://www.oregonlive.com/oregon22/2022/07/world-athletics-championships-in-eugene-drew-more-than-18-million-viewers-across-nbc-sports-platforms.html
 

I can easily argue that Sunday was the type of day that would make people want to sweat again. It was off the charts, and there’s a TV crowd to prove it.

I won’t judge whether the other numbers are worthy of mention, but let’s be honest… as a participation sport in America, Athletics is still up there. And it’s not like this soccer fan didn’t have some of these arguments 20 years ago when it didn’t look like MLS was going to make it. There’s at least a basis for growth, though some changes in presentation ought to be considered.