Celebrating the Trials.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Not too shabby for a sleepy Oregon hamlet, eh?

Eugene's successful bid to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials stunned a lot of people. That includes some folks in Sacramento who can't figure out why their city lost out to an underdog in the race to host this nation's most prestigious and profitable track and field event.

As Register-Guard columnist Ron Bellamy has noted, disappointment is running deep in Sacramento. In some quarters, it's tinged with bitterness: "USATF doesn't know what it's missing in Sacramento," fumed one local columnist. "It is trading a booming market for an Oregon hamlet; trading crowds of more than 20,000 for 15,000, maybe; trading larger prize money for even more valuable exposure outside the insular, passe sporting scene in Eugene."

Without resorting to "nanny-nanny boo-boo" rhetoric, suffice it to say that Eugene is still charming but hardly a hamlet these days, that the crowd count at the '08 Trials should average 17,000 and that prize money thankfully is still not the deciding factor in determining where to hold the Trials. And, as anyone who has attended a Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field or, for that matter, a home University of Oregon football game at Autzen Stadium will attest, the sporting scene in Eugene is neither "insular" nor "passe."

But enough of silliness and sour grapes. This should be a time for celebration and anticipation. Eugene has landed what Bellamy rightly calls "the greatest national meet" in the world for the first time in a quarter century.

The Eugene contingent did so by emphasizing Eugene's sacred place in track and field history and ambitious plans for improvements to Hayward. It promised an unprecedented, refreshing focus on the athletes, support from all facets of the community and an array of new track and field events.

Having won its improbable quest to host the Trials, Eugene must now rise to the challenge of making good on its promises.

The job can and will be done, but it won't be easy. Or cheap. The projected operating budget for the Trials is nearly $6 million, including nearly $2.5 million for Hayward improvements. Security arrangements will be complex and costly in a post-Sept. 11 environment.

The payoff for meeting these and other challenges necessary to stage the Trials promises to be profound and long-lasting. The event will bring 1,200 athletes, 500 coaches, 1,100 media representatives, as well as sellout crowds of 17,000 per day. Estimated payout for the local economy: $20 million.

The larger payoff, however, can't be quantified in dollars. The restoration of this city's claim to the title of "Track City U.S.A.," a claim that had become sadly faded in recent years, opens the door to unknown future possibilities. Already there is a quiet but very real resurgence of civic pride, a bracing reminder that nearly anything is possible when a community, even a "hamlet" such as Eugene, is focused, unified and committed to a worthy goal.