Probably the most internationally famous college owned athletic facility in the world has been bulldozed to make way for what the University of Oregon is claiming will be the finest track facility in the world. This is far more than an Oregon story. Hayward Filed has been the home for a string of NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials.
Cal track and Cal track fans have been an indirect beneficiary of having these meets so regularly held at the next Pac 12 school to our north. So much of the country has to travel long distances, but we can hop direct flights from SF and SJC., or drive there in a day. The new facility will open in March of 2020. The stadium was also immortalized in an hilarious scene in the movie Animal House.

It may be sad to see such an historically significant stadium taken down in just two days, but the good news is that the new stadium will help to keep the national epicenter of this sport in our part of the country. The new stadium will host the 2021 Track and Field World Championships. It is one of three finalists (Sacramento being another) for the 2020 Olympic Trials. Texas will be hosting the NCAA Championships while the renovation of Hayward Field is under way. The estimated cost of for the new stadium is $200,000,000. It will be all paid for with private donations....most of which are coming from a former Oregon track athlete, who started a shoe company with his college coach and received funding from Duck track boosters. The former track athlete is Phil Knight and the company is Nike. A great American success story is now helping to build a great American track stadium.

Thanks for sharing this information. Wouldn't it be nice if one of our alumni billionaires would build a smaller version to replace our antiquated track facilities.
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There is some serious consternation among the Eugene locals regarding the demolition of the stadium, including Steve Prefontaine's sisters (Linda and Neta), who have harsh words for this project. Locals feel it was railroaded through without community input, as some wanted to retain certain aspects of the stadium including the famed East grandstands.

Cal is in danger of losing Edwards stadium outright to student housing, but I submitted a proposal in March to save it. Fingers crossed.

The most interesting critique comes from Tinker Hatfield, imo. A former pole vaulter at Oregon, architecture grad, and of course famous Nike shoe designer. Im short, he says the revised designed for the stadium is actually a bad performance venue.

https://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2018/06/tinker_hatfield_goes_public_bl.html

Could there be some "sour grapes" from Tinker? The new design is being used in place of his design.

What a shame it would be to see Edwards go. It has had a glorious history, and is the largest college track specific stadium in the US (although it is now used for multiple sports). It is frustrating that Cal hasn't parlayed our desirable track climate and proximatety to major airports more to its advantage. I realize that Edwards is in need of serious renovations, but there is so much untapped potential.

I've seen that and should have linked it. Thank you for posting that rebuttal, it's a worthwhile read.

Cal Junkie said:

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Cal is in danger of losing Edwards stadium outright to student housing, but I submitted a proposal in March to save it. Fingers crossed.

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Cal can't drop women's track&field due to title IX, so where could Cal put an alternative facility? Dwight/Derby aka Clark Kerr would not seem to accommodate a facility due to size, location and neighbors.
The only way to accommodate both housing and track would be to tear down Edwards and build a track snug to Evans Diamond. The perimeter could be used for some housing but it's hardly ideal for anyone.

I did a search to get a photo of the proposed stadium...I had trouble trying to upload it...so thought that I'd just put up a UO Track promo video

Barttoriv74 said:

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Cal Junkie said:

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Cal is in danger of losing Edwards stadium outright to student housing, but I submitted a proposal in March to save it. Fingers crossed.

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Cal can't drop women's track&field due to title IX, so where could Cal put an alternative facility? Dwight/Derby aka Clark Kerr would not seem to accommodate a facility due to size, location and neighbors.
The only way to accommodate both housing and track would be to tear down Edwards and build a track snug to Evans Diamond. The perimeter could be used for some housing but it's hardly ideal for anyone.

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There is also women's soccer there. I proposed tearing down one side of Edwards' stands and leaving the track facility and the other side intact. Build housing on one side, seating on the other. It would also block some of the swirling winds. This is also the only gathering place on campus for students-staff in the event of a major disaster, women's soccer trains there, plus many other teams, clubs, groups, community members, etc. It is also a national historic monument which was named after a military figure.

Clark-Kerr is not suitable, one side is a cliff drop-off and it is also squarely on a fault line.

Cal Junkie said:

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There is some serious consternation among the Eugene locals regarding the demolition of the stadium, including Steve Prefontaine's sisters (Linda and Neta), who have harsh words for this project. Locals feel it was railroaded through without community input, as some wanted to retain certain aspects of the stadium including the famed East grandstands.

Cal is in danger of losing Edwards stadium outright to student housing, but I submitted a proposal in March to save it. Fingers crossed.

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What is your proposal?

What about Memorial Stadium? Is the field big enough to accommodate both a football field and a track?

SFCityBear said:

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Cal Junkie said:

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There is some serious consternation among the Eugene locals regarding the demolition of the stadium, including Steve Prefontaine's sisters (Linda and Neta), who have harsh words for this project. Locals feel it was railroaded through without community input, as some wanted to retain certain aspects of the stadium including the famed East grandstands.

Cal is in danger of losing Edwards stadium outright to student housing, but I submitted a proposal in March to save it. Fingers crossed.

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What is your proposal?

What about Memorial Stadium? Is the field big enough to accommodate both a football field and a track?

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You can't be serious?

We are not putting a track in memorial!

Jackieridgle said:

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SFCityBear said:

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Cal Junkie said:

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There is some serious consternation among the Eugene locals regarding the demolition of the stadium, including Steve Prefontaine's sisters (Linda and Neta), who have harsh words for this project. Locals feel it was railroaded through without community input, as some wanted to retain certain aspects of the stadium including the famed East grandstands.

Cal is in danger of losing Edwards stadium outright to student housing, but I submitted a proposal in March to save it. Fingers crossed.

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What is your proposal?

What about Memorial Stadium? Is the field big enough to accommodate both a football field and a track?

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You can't be serious?

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I am. I grew up across the street from Kezar Stadium and watched a lot of 49er games there. I also attended a lot of track meets there. So what's wrong with it? I don't watch as much football now, but back in the day, before schools and pro teams had billions of dollars to throw around, there were a lot of stadiums, maybe most stadiums, which had football and track on the same field. The only negative is that for football, the fans sit a little farther from the field. So what? If you want to see up close, there is always arena football. It is absolutely atrocious what has happened to Cal's track program, and the demolition of Edwards Field is just pouring salt into the wound.

Out of the box, how about a partnership with Berkeley High a little further down Bancroft Ave.? We can renovate their track/football field and use it as an event venue on the weekends. I can't think of another place near campus for a track facility except the Clark Kerr campus.