A Tale of Two Tracks

A Tale of Two Tracks One track stood as a monument to history, a reminder of memories and iconic moments that made the little cowtown that is Eugene into “TrackTown U.S.A.” The other stands ‒ only partially, at the moment ‒ for a desire to innovate towards the future and pursue success at any cost, even that of nostalgia. The former of the two Hayward Fields has long been leveled to the ground, with the remains of the historic East Grandstand having been demolished into splinters and carted away. The latter Hayward Field is still a work in progress over a year later, and feelings towards the new track, which was labeled as a “renovation” by the University of Oregon but which in reality is a complete rebuild, are split across the campus. “I don’t think it’s a secret Phil Knight owns UO,” Erin Masterson, a sophomore at UO, says as she sits cross-legged while her pet ball python Casper winds his narrow yellow and white body around her arms. “He puts so much money into the sports programs which in turn bring so much money back into the school.” Phil Knight, a founder of Nike, and the University of Oregon have a long history together, but it all started right in the middle of Hayward Field. As legend has it, Knight and Bill Bowerman, the co-founders of Nike, created and sold the first “waffle-soled” shoes out of Knight’s trunk at Hayward, and the rest is history. Knight, along with other private donors, is contributing the 200 million dollars needed to build the track, which allowed UO to secure the bids to host both the 2020 Olympic trials and the IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2021 in Eugene. Masterson, however, thinks that the money could have been used in a variety of ways that would have benefitted the students more as a whole. “With the money, they could’ve done so many better things. They could’ve lowered our tuition or redirected that money into so many different programs that are underfunded because of how much UO already prioritizes their athletics,” she said. “I was in a building last year where the radiators weren’t able to shut off, even in the summer, and it was ridiculously hot and hard to concentrate all class. There are other things that need work before we build a brand new stadium that didn’t need to be built.” Masterson also pointed out that ‒ assuming every student at UO was paying in-state tuition rates ‒ the 200 million dollars could fund almost every person’s tuition on campus for a full year. Not everyone agrees with Masterson’s point of view, however. Kade Van De Hey, a sophomore at the university, sees the money in a different light. “Yeah, it sucks that it’s not going towards helping students directly, but at the same time it’s their money to donate, and it’s better that they’re donating it to help improve the campus than not donating it at all,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Plus, I’m excited about the Olympic trials coming here. I’m trying to convince my parents to buy tickets to come watch them.” Alex Hernandez, a sophomore at UO, said that the Olympic trials were also a huge reason for his support of the track. “I love it, growing up I had a family that was involved in cross country and track and stuff, so I’m pretty stoked to have the Olympics here,” he said, looking up from his thick black square-framed glasses. “I think it’s a cool feature to have because we’re a big TrackTown U.S.A school.” Masterson, however, had a much more pragmatic take on the possibility of the Olympic trials coming to campus. “Parking on campus is already terrible ‒ imagine when there are Olympic trials being held,” she said. One of the most polarizing elements of the new track to date, however, has been the design. “I think it’s big just to be big and the last one looked better. Plus there’s history with Steve Prefontaine,” Masterson said. “This one looks gaudy just to be, because we have the Knight money. The size, the arches, the beams, the huge tower, like why do we need a huge tower. It just doesn’t look good on campus, it doesn’t fit.” Van De Hey disagreed. “The arches and glass look super cool, and give it a futuristic vibe,” Van De Hey said. Hernandez also liked the design of the new track. “I think it gives Oregon a nice look, especially with the tower with the names of people from the past,” Hernandez said. Tinker Hatfield, Nike's vice president for design and special projects who designed the Air Jordan basketball shoes and who attended UO, said that he wasn’t pleased with Hayward Field’s design in an email to The Oregonian. “The 20-foot high stone wall, although nice for a fortress, is not so great for Eugene, unless we are expecting a medieval military attack from Corvallis,” he wrote. “The wall completely severs the community from the track because it's both a physical and metaphorical barrier. Hayward Field is, in part, a unique and desirable venue because it's connected to students, visitors and casual passersby on a day in and day out basis.” In addition, he said that “the demolition of the East Grandstand is unnecessary and completes the severing,” and that “the Bowerman Tower is a monument to Bill he would surely hate. He'd rather see the money go to improving performance for the athletes.” Even with the polarizing nature of the design and funding of the stadium, there was one thing everyone could agree on ‒ the construction was extremely disrupting for those living in the dorms. “I lived in the dorms, and you could pretty much hear the construction all the time and it really affected people, especially with studying and getting sleep,” Hernandez said. “My roommate lived in Walton last year and they started at 7 AM and woke him up every single morning,” said Masterson. “And now if you live in Bean you have to take a maze of walkways just to get around the construction.” “It was terrible,” said Van De Hey. ”It was like having an alarm clock you didn’t set, every single morning.” Nevertheless, despite protests from many groups hoping to preserve parts of the original Hayward Field, the construction continues at a rapid pace, which is just another reminder that even at a public university, money talks..

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