Oregon Track Stadium Is Just Received A $270 Million Renovation
The University of Oregon Track Stadium, Hayward Field is a 100-year-old facility. One of the oldest facilities in the United States, and by far the oldest at the University of Oregon.
The field was originally opened in 1919 for football, it then became the home of the track and field team in 1921. It wasn’t until 1967 that the football team moved to Autzen Stadium.
However, with the Oregon Track Field (Hayward Field) being over 100 years old. It has been long overdue for a renovation. In the summer of 2018, the University of Oregon closed down the stadium so that it could go under a re-construction. After a one and three quarter years, the stadium is now complete.
The capacity of the stadium has improved from 10,500 to 12,650 permanent seats. The stadium can expand to 25,000 seats.
” The overhaul, really a reconstruction, features a stone base that refers to the state’s Cascade mountain range and a curling, transparent overhang supported by timber beams meant to echo fir forests. It glistens with modern training facilities, a health clinic and even a barbershop.”
According to the Wall Street Journal.
“The official cost of the renovation: $270,047,937, according to an Oregon athletics financial report. Yet the university doesn’t actually know precisely how much the project cost. Because of the privacy preferences of its lead donor and mastermind— Nike co-founder and Oregon alumnus Phil Knight, the university’s frequent benefactor—that figure is an estimate prepared for the university by an appraiser. “
In an email to Phil Knight by the Wall Street Journal, he would not expand on how much his gift was worth.
However, we can I easily figure out that most of the renovation was payed for by the University of Oregon graduate and Co-founder of NIKE.
The NCAA has already tabbed the University of Oregon the host the 2024-2027 Track and Field Championships. The University of Oregon Track team has significantly gotten better over the years. But, with this renovation, the nickname “Tracktown USA” fits even more in Eugene, Oregon.
