Eugene, Oregon Awarded 2021 World Championships!

[gh]

yes, the number of seat kills that the media and VIPs will make up would probably be about equal to the entire West Grandstand as Hayward is currently configured.

But Oregon obviously showed the IAAF a plan for upgrades which satisfied them or else they wouldn't have voted for it.

[Dave]

But I expect a larger proportion of the spectators were locals compared to what we're going to see at the WC. And there will be a lot more athletes, team officials, IAAF suits and international journalists there in 2021 compared to the OT.

This competition is unlikely put much more of a strain on Eugene as do Oregon Ducks football games. 30,000 attendees and perhaps 20K athletes and members of their entourages compared with 54K who show up football.

Yes, they need to increase capacity of Hayward field. I am a bit confused since a lot of reports show 10.5K capacity. Typically, Pre attendance is closer to 15k.

[bad hammy]

from the Eugene Register-Guard story linked in Day's Best Reading on the front page

<<If we’ve learned anything from this process, it’s that back-room deals are part of doing business on the international track circuit. Eugene saw the other side of that in November, when a late influx of cash helped Qatar land the 2019 world championships. Now TrackTown is benefitting from the IAAF’s decision to award the 2021 games without a bidding process, which rankled track officials in Europe.>>

This is a large part of what was behind my unkind comment about limited sympathy for the Swedes et. al. It wasn't about the Swedes at all but rather my frustration that this selection process often appears corrupt along with the other competition where countries fight each other to see who can have the privileged of going bankrupt hosting the OGs. (Maybe these folks could use a law like Citizen's United to legalize their corruption. Actually, for all I know they do.) Yes, none of the US crowd here appreciated Doha getting the nod ahead of us so I can definitely empathize, despite earlier comments.

Nothing surprises me when people are throwing around big money . . .

Oh, and while is sucks for other potential bidders I do find it quite delicious that this happened just before USATF BS sends Bob Hersh to the sidelines. I have very low expectations for the Hightower years . . .

[bennyg]

yes, the number of seat kills that the media and VIPs will make up would probably be about equal to the entire West Grandstand as Hayward is currently configured.

But Oregon obviously showed the IAAF a plan for upgrades which satisfied them or else they wouldn't have voted for it.

How many times did I read on this topic in the last few years from you and others on this Forum that Eugene and everywhere else ever mentioned in the States was not possible ??... lost count!!
When posters raised the topic of a USA WC which came up just about every WC there were copious reasons why it would not and could not happen!!!

Perfectly natural that the WC should be in the States but not in the backdoor manner that it has ben done.

[bruce3404]

Yes, they need to increase capacity of Hayward field. I am a bit confused since a lot of reports show 10.5K capacity. Typically, Pre attendance is closer to 15k.

They generally bring in extra bleachers for the Pre that are not part of the normal set up. Often these bleachers are in place for OTs, USATF's, etc which occur a few weeks after the Pre. Like many facilities, attendance is inflated to include athletes, press, officials, vendors, etc, none of whom occupy the grandstands.

[tm71]

It is naive to think that iaaf or FIFA or IOC follow any protocol. Frankly this decision for Eugene to host the worlds was LONG overdue !

[gh]

How many times did I read on this topic in the last few years from you and others on this Forum that Eugene and everywhere else ever mentioned in the States was not possible ??... lost count!!
When posters raised the topic of a USA WC which came up just about every WC there were copious reasons why it would not and could not happen!!!

Perfectly natural that the WC should be in the States but not in the backdoor manner that it has ben done.

I do believe you are totally misrepresenting my stance. Yes, I have long said (and will continue to say) that no EXISTING facility is in place in this country to host a Worlds. 2021 is a long way from today, my friend.

Where I have been proved wrong (and am deliriously happy to admit to such) is in saying that the necessary government guarantees would never be forthcoming and that American TV would commit to a signal that many years out.

I remain utterly shocked—again, in the most positive of senses—that both the state of Oregon and NBC were willing to step up to the plate.

[bruce3404]

In the stands today at the Oregon Relays, some of us were discussing the audacity of Vin's decision some five years ago to bring the WC to Eugene. Even the hard core here thought it was an impossible task which could never be accomplished, though we all gave Vin credit for restoring the luster of Tracktown by upgrading the collegiate program and craftily stealing the OT's from Sacto; still, the World's? As we went round and round on this board and among local fans, the same arguments occurred: Where will people stay? Are they going to retrofit Autzen Stadium to accommodate a track since Hayward couldn't possibly be expanded to satisfy the IAAF? All the while Vin and crew kept working behind the scenes and we all woke up to the most marvelous of gifts yesterday. This is one great success story which will put Lananna in the T&F HOF.

[tamabi]

While I'm not at all inclined to read the entire IAAF procedural manual, I did pick up some info on their website: http://www.iaaf.org/eventbidding/candidature-procedure

The first lines seem to allow for wiggle room: For all WAS events, the candidature procedure takes a similar form, running from January to November.

• January - Opening of the bid process:
Every year a circular letter is sent out to all IAAF member federations, specifying which events are open for bidding and communicating the deadline for first element to be sent through, the letter of intent

As I read this, the IAAF will let cities know which events are open for bidding. Obviously, 2021 will not be open for bidding. Is there anything within their guidelines that obviously states that bidding is an automatic part of the process for awarding a WC?

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/athletic...cs_217616.html
According to this article, the Swedish federation were told repeatedly that there would be a normal bidding procedure, and were preparing a bid accordingly.

Also if you look at the "official" basic requirement for hosting the WC, Eugene doesn't have them all: http://www.iaaf.org/eventbidding/iaa...-championships
"• Minimum 1,000,000 population" FAIL
"• Minimum 30,000-seat stadium" FAIL (so far)
"• At least 3000 beds in 4-star hotels" No clue
"• International airport within city" FAIL
"• A minimum budget of at least US$40m" I'm sure they have this one.

Both Doha and Göteborg do meet those requirements.

[bennyg]

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/athletic...cs_217616.html
According to this article, the Swedish federation were told repeatedly that there would be a normal bidding procedure, and were preparing a bid accordingly.

Also if you look at the "official" basic requirement for hosting the WC, Eugene doesn't have them all: http://www.iaaf.org/eventbidding/iaa...-championships
"• Minimum 1,000,000 population" FAIL
"• Minimum 30,000-seat stadium" FAIL (so far)
"• At least 3000 beds in 4-star hotels" No clue
"• International airport within city" FAIL
"• A minimum budget of at least US$40m" I'm sure they have this one.

Both Doha and Göteborg do meet those requirements.

So on the grounds of multiple failure, 3 and possibly 4, what the heck is all the IAAF documentation about requirements really all about.


It does occur that in future every city which fancies its chances( assuming there are a few left) only has to get the budget guarantees and the TV boys lined up and all the rest about size, stadia, facilities, hotels etc is meaningless cr*p.

[bennyg]

In the stands today at the Oregon Relays, some of us were discussing the audacity of Vin's decision some five years ago to bring the WC to Eugene. Even the hard core here thought it was an impossible task which could never be accomplished, though we all gave Vin credit for restoring the luster of Tracktown by upgrading the collegiate program and craftily stealing the OT's from Sacto; still, the World's? As we went round and round on this board and among local fans, the same arguments occurred: Where will people stay? Are they going to retrofit Autzen Stadium to accommodate a track since Hayward couldn't possibly be expanded to satisfy the IAAF? All the while Vin and crew kept working behind the scenes and we all woke up to the most marvelous of gifts yesterday. This is one great success story which will put Lananna in the T&F HOF.

Oh I see,.. there will be a few spectators from the other 200 countries who might be in Eugene if seats can be found for them.

What always amazed many other people who are fans of the sport is that in one of the largest geographical countries in the world with a population of 320 million and countless Stadia and being the worlds number one track and field nation, there was no place except little old Eugene that could or would have the facilities, size, money etc to eventually hold the WC. So I suppose its a frigging miracle that it happened.!!

[Atticus]

in one of the largest geographical countries in the world with a population of 320 million and countless Stadia and being the worlds number one track and field nation, there was no place except little old Eugene that could or would have the facilities, size, money etc to eventually hold the WC.

As has been discussed here many times before, there is no other place in the USA that meets the IAAF's criteria and that would proffer a bid, so yes, given the limits of Hayward Field, the small size of Eugene and the lack of hotel space, it IS a miracle we got a WC.

[26mi235]

The stands will be full in Eugene, which is becoming less and less the case in IAAF events, and will probably look quite full of real fans compared to the edition of the event that it follows. All that junk requirement of the four star hotels etc., is for things that are for all the wrong reasons. I suspect that the entourage elements will also be smaller by then. As for the population of the site, that also is something that has more to do with their vision of what it requires to put on the show; Eugene is so far from typical that it makes most of those requirements substantially less relevant. Europe is the size of the US, poorer (especially over the last six years and have not been in catching up mode for longer), yet seems to feel that they are 'owed' the WC's every couple editions. No one seems to think that moving the OGs around the world a bit is bad policy.

The most telling complaints are those of Sherlock's dog -- the one(s) that did not bark. I have not seen them complaining that Eugene cannot put on a good show. No one here knows what quid pr quo went down in the process of getting the many millions from Doha; maybe that is the street to go down if you want to complain.

[norunner]

The stands will be full in Eugene, which is becoming less and less the case in IAAF events, and will probably look quite full of real fans compared to the edition of the event that it follows. All that junk requirement of the four star hotels etc., is for things that are for all the wrong reasons. I suspect that the entourage elements will also be smaller by then. As for the population of the site, that also is something that has more to do with their vision of what it requires to put on the show; Eugene is so far from typical that it makes most of those requirements substantially less relevant. Europe is the size of the US, poorer (especially over the last six years and have not been in catching up mode for longer), yet seems to feel that they are 'owed' the WC's every couple editions. No one seems to think that moving the OGs around the world a bit is bad policy.

The most telling complaints are those of Sherlock's dog -- the one(s) that did not bark. I have not seen them complaining that Eugene cannot put on a good show. No one here knows what quid pr quo went down in the process of getting the many millions from Doha; maybe that is the street to go down if you want to complain.

I haven't seen anyone here doubt that Eugene is a good venue and that the US deserves the WCs, the problem is the way it was done. It's like the US couldn't get the WCs the regular way for the last 30 years, so now we're gonna sell it to them.
And seriously, Europe is poorer than the US? In what way and how is that at all relevant to T&F world champions? Your whole posting is one unrelated argument after another, if the IOC decided to skip the selection process and just let big businesses buy the games for their cities of choice, most here would consider that a very bad idea. But maybe we should let Walmart buy the 2024 games to be held in Bentonville.

[Halfmiler2]

While I have no inside knowledge about this, I do know in the contexts of other unrelated events, that sometimes when there are two strong bids, a selection committee occasionally offers the runner-up the next available time-slot after the winner's bid is accepted. This situation seems exactly to fit that scenario. The critics would be more justified if the IAAF did not just vet Eugene for 2019.