EUGENE, Ore. — A growing sentiment in the track and field community is for the Olympic trials to be held somewhere besides the University of Oregon. Considering the 2028 Games are in Los Angeles, having the trials there in California could make a ton of sense.
Except, the bar set at Hayward Field is proving too high to clear elsewhere.
We’ve been working really diligently to cultivate partnerships in markets across the country,” said Max Siegel, CEO of USA Track and Field during a press conference with Casey Wasserman, CEO of LA28.
“It’s difficult to find a partner that is as collaborative, knowledgeable and (has) a fan base that supports the sport as Eugene. We all understand the logistical challenges. But if you look at the financial support that the federation has given, with coaches travel and athlete travel. We’ve tried to offset that. But we’re highly sensitive to that. It is one of our priorities to make sure that we move the sport around across the country.”
Athletes have voiced concerns about always having to come to Eugene. It’s a remote location, which makes it hard for fans traveling from across the country. The city is relatively small so major events like the Olympic trials jack up the price of hotels. And the off-the-track life isn’t exactly popping.
But who can host a major track meet better than TrackTown USA?
“The operational stress is probably going to take away from the athletes,” he said. “That’s not my decision to make but that would be my concern — that we can’t give them, for what is essentially a 10-day event here, the right environment and the right clarity and the right simplicity to compete to make their olympic team.”
The track and field portion of the Olympics will be held at the Coliseum. It requires putting a temporary state-of-the-art track at the stadium, a task Wasserman said “is the most expensive and complicated thing we have to build.” That the Coliseum is home to USC football and other major events compresses the schedule to renovate the stadium to the desired standards.
Wasserman suggested the daunting task of putting on an Olympics worthy of Los Angeles is already enough without adding the track and field trials. Adding to the degree of difficulty is having the closing ceremonies at the Coliseum. Wasserman all but ruled out Los Angeles hosting the 2027 USA championships.
