Hayward Field may lose something, but probably gain even more

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Something might be lost when Hayward Field’s seating structures are torn down and the stadium is rebuilt.

But it’s going to be OK. And yes, it will probably be improved.

That might sound like blasphemy. Hayward Field is an iconic venue for track and field and it is a beautiful place to spend a day watching athletes. Those of us who spend many of our weekends in the spring at the track know this and love the place.

That’s not going to change.

Even as people in Eugene and around the track and field community wring their hands over the idea of losing the East Grandstand and wonder about the secretive plans for the build that will replace it, let’s remember a few things.

Phil Knight understands the attachment and sentiment that people feel for Hayward Field as well as anyone. The billionaire who founded Nike with Bill Bowerman isn’t going to ruin Hayward Field. If it happens to be one of his final grand gestures to the University of Oregon, it’s going to capture the all of the best imagined aesthetics and also pave the way for the next century of sport on Agate Street.

Will something be lost? Sure, maybe the University of Oregon will stop calling it “Historic” Hayward Field, as if the word historic needs to be pointed out to anyone.

The place where Steve Prefontaine’s memorial service was held on campus in 1975 – the East Grandstand – will go. That's unfortunate because the echoes of old races and legendary athletes seem to be in the mist there.

Watching the meet from the East Grandstand, it’s easy to see why these particular bleachers are so loved. These timbers bear Oregon’s signature, with lumber culled from trees that grew somewhere nearby. Crowds of people in overcoats and fedoras watched Oregon football games under this roof or one nearly identical, for decades.

From outside the stadium, the East Grandstand resembles one of the covered bridges spanning the McKenzie River in the foothills of the Cascades. To stand and face the track, under the roof, is like peering out over a pastoral landscape from the hay loft of a barn.

The University of Oregon has made significant changes before.

When the football program was sent across the Willamette River to the earthen berm created for Autzen Stadium, fans lost something of their heritage. They also got over it. Autzen Stadium is beloved by Ducks fans everywhere, particularly when the team is good. And thanks in large part to Knight, and Nike, it is.

More recently, Oregon’s men’s and women’s basketball teams moved out of McArthur Court. And yes, people mourned the loss of an experience at Mac Court, the “Pit.” McArthur Court is no less iconic or historic than Hayward Field. It was one of the grand venues of college – and high school – basketball.

Mac Court had tiny concourses and some sightline problems if you happened to have a seat behind a steel beam. Not enough bathrooms. Much of it was uncomfortable. What it had was character and mystique, and balconies that stacked on top of one another like a wedding cake.

But in 2011, the Phil Knight-funded Matthew Knight Arena (named for his son) opened on Franklin Boulevard. It’s a modern arena with appropriate spaces for concerts and events. People seem to like it.

Matt Court is an improvement in every way except for the style and memories of those who miss the old gym. And with every passing year, fewer people remember Mac Court or stop bothering to make the comparison.

It will be the same with Hayward Field. Oregon coach Robert Johnson has apparently seen the new plan and is excited about it. That should count for something.

A committee fanned out across the globe to analyze the best track and field facilities in the world before re-working the design of the new track stadium. It will be better equipped to meet the needs of athletes and fans and continue to bolster Eugene’s reputation for putting on this country’s best meets. It will be ready for not only the 2021 IAAF World Track and Field Championships, but also future NCAAs, Prefontaine Classics and OSAA state meets.

This isn’t going to be slapped together.

So long as the oval and infield space isn’t moved, and the Hayward Field records remain intact, there is a fighting chance that so-called Hayward Magic isn’t going to be lost, either.

The Bowerman statue? Move it. The Bowerman Building? Raze it. The West Grandstand,too. If you can create more parking somewhere, do it. (Please).

The new place will be scrutinized, as it should be. It should weather criticism, even, if something really clueless goes on in the planning or execution. The new architectural schematics have been created in semi-secret and there are many stakeholders -- thousands -- who wish to know what's going on, what's coming next.

I can understand people who love Hayward Field being nervous about this.

But is a new Hayward Field going to be step backward? There is almost no chance of that.

Phil Knight has 60 years of history with Hayward Field, spanning back to his days as an undergraduate and miler.

You might even consider the temples that he built at Autzen Stadium and Matt Court, and a half-dozen other buildings on campus, as practice runs for this.

Nobody cares about getting it right more than he does, I believe.

And for that reason, it’s easy to imagine that what’s coming is going to be spectacular.