Eugene, Oregon Awarded 2021 World Championships!

[gh]

Not to diss on Stuttgart, because as I said, it was indeed one of the very best, but I think a lot of the "buzz" can be attributed to the stadium configuration, which kept the sound inside the bowl. Clearly the most knowledgeable set of fans ever, though, that's for sure.

[tandfman]

The buzz in the stadium in Stuttgart--the constant sound level of the crowd--was like nothing I've ever seen elsewhere. It was just amazing.

[Weights&Shoes]

I was in Stuttgart for that meet and it was the best world championship meet in all aspects

Think in general most who watched would say Stuttgart was #1. Stuttgart, Goteborg, Berlin and Seville are my personal favs.

[gh]

Having been to all the Worlds (not bragging, at least not for the purposes of this post), I'd rate Stuttgart as top 5, for all-around enjoyment, but not No. 1. I'd probably give that to Göteborg.

Tough to vote against Helsinki I, just because of the utter orgasms that the sport finally having a real World Championships produced.

Both Helsinkis were a bit marred by rain and cold, but nonetheless, what they share with Göteborg is that the stadium was "downtown" and you could walk to the stadium from your hotel and the relevant restaurant/bar centers. To say nothing of an enthusiastic populace.

Stuttgart was close though, with incredibly knowledgeable German fans and a great mass-transit system.

The problem with the major metropoli (read Tokyo, Osaka, Paris, Moscow, Rome, Berlin) is that the cities are so big that the meet tends to get swallowed up and doesn't resonate on the local radar. As a track fan you tend to feel like a stranger in a strange land in an overall sense, even if the culture/food/history can boggle your mind.

[tm71]

I was in Stuttgart for that meet and it was the best world championship meet in all aspects

[gh]

I repeat what I have already said before in this thread: Osaka was NOT a breach of protocol. There was no formal selection process, because no other city put in a bid. It was not remotely the same situation as this time around.

I finally found a timely reference to this, from "Last Lap" in the December '02 T&FN. It appears that Osaka indeed filed a bid, but as you say, Berlin and Budapest had dropped out, so it was a "no contest" situation (which 2021 would not have been).

But if push had come to shove, note that the IAAF had an agreement with major sponsor TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting, not Turner) that there would be a WC in Japan before '10. So if Osaka had lost a "real" contest for '07, then by default the IAAF would have given the '09 meet to a Japanese city.

Just in the spirit of historical accuracy.

[einnod23]

I've been told that Eugene and Hayward is just too small
1. Small city
2. Small Hayward

With that said, a World Champs in the US is a win-win, may save the sport professionally in the US and is loooooong overdue!

As a viewer, the last few Worlds looked "empty" on TV. But I remember watching Stuttgart '93, and it looked super-packed and exciting for even the morning sessions! For those that know, does Eugene have a potential to be a Stuttgart?

[lonewolf]

I have stayed in the dorms at Oregon several times.. one block from the track and perfectly adequate for my Spartan needs..and the food is great..

[polevaultpower]

Not normally, no, but I'm not sure there will be any other option, since I don't know what developer would build enough hotel capacity in Eugene. Maybe they'll co-opt all the student housing at UO and make that available to anyone willing to stay there.

I am guessing that all of the student housing will be reserved for athletes/coaches/other credentialed people. I really doubt it will ever be available to the general public. I stayed in the dorms at the '12 Trials and they were very nice, I was quite impressed with the setup. Great food on campus.

There are a lot of people in Eugene who have learned it is fairly profitable to rent out rooms/your whole house during the Olympic Trials and such. With this much time to prepare, I expect we'll see quite a few locals leaving town and making some money renting out their house. 6 years is a long time, who knows how sites like airbnb will have evolved, it will probably be a better situation than just scouring Craigslist.

It's definitely something to keep in the back of your mind if you're thinking of attending the meet...

[tandfman]

From what I remember, IAAF has different standards of athlete accomodation for WJC and WC. The dorm rooms that were perfectly OK for the juniors might not be considered so for the Bolts and Isinbayevas (or whatever their equivalents in 2021 may be).

IIRC, the athletes' village in Helsinki at the 2005 World Championships was essentially student housing. And in Daegu in 2011, the athletes shared apartments in a new housing complex. Those apartments were sold (or pre-sold) to families for occupancy after the Championships.

[booond]

A plan wrapped in Nike-scented Benjamins.

[gh]

fretting now over a housing situation 6 years from now is pointless. Do you really think that the IAAF would have so convincingly voted to award the meet if they hadn't seen a plan which convinced them that all the proper numbers will be in place when needed?

[26mi235]

That's significantly smaller than Bydgoszcz, which struggled with providing accomodation for everyone at WJC - and that's an event hardly anyone apart from the participants bothers to go to.

And that is surprising to you? Not exactly the same kind of place. Also, Western Oregon is a significant tourist destination, and there are lots of rooms in the general vicinity; driving is easy and relatively cheap. I taught at Oregon State and it was not that far to "U of Zero".

On the other hand, almost 3000 at Berlin is a lot (what was the number for Moscow?); were most of them there for two weeks?

[bruce3404]

A plane ticket to Moscow + living expenses there for 10 days probably costs a lot more for Europeans than a plane ticket to Eugene + living expenses there for 10 days.

I don't think so. For Moscow, we rented an OK 2 bedroom apartment with AC next to a subway line for $100/night. Tickets were $200/pp all-sessions in good seats (backstretch, row 20, directly across from finish line). Airfare from London to Moscow is currently under $200RT on Easy Jet if you purchase a month or so in advance.
Assuming double occupancy, Moscow 2013 from Western Europe could have easily been done for $1000, excluding food and drink. I expect tickets for Eugene to be in the $1000 range, based on the $300 they're charging for the 3 day World Indoor Championships next year. Given hotel limitations and seating limitations, Eugene will not be an inexpensive meet to attend, but it'll still pale in comparison with what it costs to attend an Olympics.

[Powell]

I assumed that the athletes and team staffs would be staying in the student housing, as they did at the World Juniors last year.

From what I remember, IAAF has different standards of athlete accomodation for WJC and WC. The dorm rooms that were perfectly OK for the juniors might not be considered so for the Bolts and Isinbayevas (or whatever their equivalents in 2021 may be).