The postponement of the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo was just one more disappointment in a year full of setbacks.
The newly imagined Hayward Field was set to host the 2020 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, a 10-day run that was supposed to begin on June 18, 2020. The Tokyo Olympics then announced the Games would begin a year later, on July 23.
With the delayed Trials set to start in 2021, Hayward Field will finally open its doors to thousands of fans and the sport’s best athletes for a chance to compete on the world’s biggest stage.
TrackTown USA, the local organizing committee for numerous high-caliber track and field events, just like the rest of the world, had to suddenly shift all their plans back a year.
The news frustrated the volunteers and staff. The strategic planning and creating from the last couple years had to be reconfigured to introduce the new system for the postponement.
A small team of 11, TrackTown’s staff rebounded quickly, realizing the postponement gave them even more time to fine tune their contingency plans during a pandemic.
Michael Reilly, the CEO of TrackTown since 2018, held the vital position of competition director for the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene and is now heading one of the biggest events in the sport of track and field.
“Once we understood that the Olympic Games and Trials were a postponement, not a cancelation,” Reilly said, “we really rebounded quite quickly to get focused on unwinding some of the plans we had in place, assess what it’s going to take in this ever-changing landscape and start to build different operating plans for any number of situations.”
The committee had time to recalibrate, working on tasks such as determining a final schedule, sponsorships, ticket sales and in-person fan regulations — all pieces of an intricate system that had to work smoothly for a multi-day event.
USA Track and Field, one of TrackTown’s partners and the national governing body for the sport, has worked closely with TrackTown to ensure the safety of the athletes competing, according to Reilly. They are implementing safety protocols and testing programs to make certain that the athletes heading to Eugene feel safe in the community.
The delayed Trials not only affected the host organization, but also the local services and businesses that relied on the economic boost to keep their storefronts alive during a pandemic.
According to Travel Lane County, the 2016 Olympic Trials held in Eugene generated almost $37 million in revenue, 40% of which was visitor spending, followed by hotels and hospitality at 23%. Even though this year will be at a reduced capacity, TrackTown expects the event will benefit the community and overall economic growth.
The Trials itself can, in turn, help jump start Lane County’s recovery from the pandemic.
With the days counting down until the Trials this month, Reilly is looking forward to seeing all of the logistical planning and organizing pay off when fans and athletes step into Hayward Field.
“To see the Oregon athletes compete in the stadium that was built for them, even though there were very few spectators allowed, you can still feel that energy inside Hayward [....],” Reilly said. “If that’s just a taste of what’s to come during the NCAA Championships and then the Olympic Trials, I can only imagine what the energy and buzz will feel like in that stadium.”
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June 14, 2021 at 08:00PM
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