EUGENE — The new Hayward Field, under construction for the past 14 months on an “aggressive schedule” to get ready for the 2020 spring track and field season, will be more than simply a competition venue.
Underneath the track will be an extensive center for University of Oregon athletes. It will include a lounge, weights, equipment and locker rooms, sports medicine facilities, and heated and air-conditioned indoor training areas with a 140-meter track and a pit for jumpers, vaulters and throwers.
And of course, a barber shop.
“Look good, feel good, play good,” lead designer Todd Van Horne said, laughing.
Those details were among the highlights Wednesday afternoon, when project managers conducted a tour of the construction site almost eight months ahead of Hayward Field’s scheduled reopening.
“What’s underneath will be unprecedented for Oregon athletes and really all track and field facilities across the world,” Van Horne said.
The first event in new Hayward is the Pac-12 championships, scheduled for May 16-17, followed by the Oregon state high school championships May 28-30, the Prefontaine Classic on June 6-7 and then the Olympic trials, June 19-28.
Oregon coach Robert Johnson assured that the stadium will be ready for the Pac-12 meet. “Nothing has changed as of yet,” he said. “From everything I know of, that’s what we’re going to do.”
While equally confident in the project’s progress, Van Horne said ultimately it is “schedule and weather dependent.”
“So, cross your fingers for good weather,” he said, smiling.
The new stadium will hold 12,700 permanent seats but will need to expand to 30,000 to meet seating requirements for the biggest event, the 2021 IAAF world outdoor world track and field championships.
During the tour, Van Horne pointed out how 6,000 seats will be covered from weather around the stadium’s bowl and highlighted the northeast corner of the stadium, where over 17,000 temporary seats will, he said, be raised “taller than the dorms” that sit behind Hayward.
The stadium’s concourse will also feature stretches of track that will serve as additional training grounds for athletes, such as a 100-meter stretch planned for the north-side ramp.
The facilities underneath Hayward Field won’t completely replace those already used by the track and field athletes. Oregon coach Robert Johnson said his team will still use the indoor practice facility by Autzen Stadium, for example.
“The reason this stadium looks the way it does, the reason it’s getting built in the first place, is for the athlete,” Van Horne said. “The athlete is at the center.”
