NASA Expansion Plans Call for Possible End of Hammer Field

By Adam Kopet

Tore Gustafsson, a three-time Olympian from Sweden, operates a hammer throw training group in the Bay Area. For the past 11 years, the group has trained on a small field between US HWY 101 and the NASA Ames Research Center campus, part of Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif.

The space is unremarkable. There is a hammer cage, throwing circle, a small set of bleachers and a storage crate. The field is mostly dirt, pockmarked craters caused by landing hammer implements. The throwers in the training group are wholly responsible for the facility's upkeep.

However, according to a report by Mark Noack of the Mountain View Voice, the training group, which includes Great Britain's Sophie Hitchon, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, could be looking for a new home.

NASA has plans to develop the area around its research campus to add housing for its expanding workforce. Gustafsson does not know where his group can move to if required. The local land values make the purchase or leasing of land impossible for the throwing group, which includes Olympians and amateurs alike.

If needed, Gustafsson hopes he could negotiate space from nearby Google as a community contribution. Otherwise, the group would need to move, likely to the Central Valley, according to Gustafsson.