Oregon athletic facilities, big and small, are planned around the state

New Oregon athletic facilities, big and small, around the state

written by Sheila G. Miller

Many track and field buffs are in mourning at the changes underway at historic Hayward Field. The facility, which was built in 1919 to house football and grew into the legendary location of Olympic Trials and USA Track and Field championships, has been torn down and will be rebuilt entirely using funds from the Phil and Penny Knight Foundation and other donors.

The new facility is the result of Eugene hosting the 2021 World Outdoor Championships. It will have an expanded capacity—from 8,500 to 12,900 with room for temporary seating up to 30,000—and a nine-story tower with an observation deck, as well as a locker room and an indoor practice facility. Missing from the facility will be the wooden stands where fans have cheered on racers for nearly a century.

The project was designed by SRG Partnership, and is expected to open in spring 2020. On a much smaller scale, other communities are getting new athletic facilities as well. In Bend, Cascade Indoor Sports is opening a 48,500-square-foot facility with a trampoline zone on the first floor, a “pickleball zone” with eight indoor courts, and a third-floor viewing area and lounge.

Near West Linn, a plan is in place to construct a 95,000-square-foot indoor lacrosse and soccer facility. The two-story building in Wankers Corner would have a full-size soccer field with seating and other amenities around it. The original plan was for the facility, from Fieldhouse Athletics LLC, to be finished this fall.

 

 

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