Clock is ticking already on Trials.

Byline: Curtis Anderson The Register-Guard

Eugene used a strong finishing kick to beat Sacramento to the tape this past Friday when it won the right to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials.

Now, those members of the local organizing committee who made the trip to Indianapolis to secure the bid find themselves back in the starting blocks.

Although the 10-day Trials are more than 32 months away, some work is already under way on the massive organizational tasks, fundraising efforts and improvements to Hayward Field that are essential to successfully hosting the event.

That was the message delivered by Bill Moos, the University of Oregon director of athletics, at a press conference held at The Club at Autzen Stadium on Tuesday to discuss the Olympic Trials.

Moos was joined by five members of the Eugene delegation: Oregon Track Club president Greg Erwin, Oregon track and field coach Vin Lananna, UO assistant athletic director Mike Reilly, Prefontaine Classic director Tom Jordan and Barbara Kousky of Northwest Event Management, Inc.

Moos said weekly meetings on the Trials will begin in the very near future, but nobody has been named to coordinate the effort that will oversee as many as 40 local committees working in conjunction with USA Track & Field.

`Our first objective was to secure the bid, and now we're in the process of deciding who will be in our meetings ... to start putting together the pieces leading up to the (Trials),' Moos said. `We have not yet decided who will be the one individual to spearhead this process, but the people sitting at this table will all be very much involved.'

Eugene will also soon kick off the fundraising effort to meet the projected operating budget of the Trials, which is nearly $6 million according to a feasibility study co-authored by Jordan and Kousky.

That figure includes an estimated $2.5 million for upgrades to Hayward Field. The budgeted projects feature a new and expanded press box, a new scoreboard with video replay capabilities and a major resurfacing of the track and infield apron. Work already has begun on a new warmup track adjacent to Hayward Field.

Moos said no target dates for completion have been set on any of the projects, but he had no concerns about raising the necessary funds.

`When we had the (USATF site selection committee) visit this building, I made the comment that we've built $160 million worth of facilities at Oregon in the last 10 years and I don't think $2.5 million will be a huge hurdle for us,' he said. `These were things we wanted to do anyway. ... This simply puts an urgency to it.'

Craig Masback, USATF's chief executive officer, joined the press conference via speaker phone. He said Eugene landed the Trials with an innovative and athlete-focused bid that displayed both confidence and humility.

He also complimented the efforts of three individuals who didn't attend the press conference - Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green, former UO distance runner Rudy Chapa and Angel Jones, executive director of Library, Recreation and Cultural Services for the city of Eugene.

`Every single person who spoke on Eugene's behalf hit the right note,' Masback said. `The two local officials did a great job of giving an example of how this won't just be a technically perfect track meet that is wonderfully welcoming to the athletes, coaches and their families, but that the entire town will turn itself upside down to make this the cultural, sports and community event of the summer of 2008.'

Although the two competing bids were very close from a financial standpoint, Masback said Eugene's proposal was greater than the one presented by Sacramento `in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.'

`To me, the passion, the focus on athletes, the focus on innovation and elements that would take this sport forward were the most impressive things about the Eugene bid,' Masback said. `Money doesn't hurt, but it was the quality of the ideas more than the quantity of the money.'

Eugene's proposal to further invest in the sport included three other bid components:

The addition of at least four events to the Prefontaine Classic this spring.

Bringing a `high-performance' track meet to Hayward Field starting after the U.S. national championships in 2006 or 2007.

Offering prize money of $500 each to the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-place finishers at the Trials.

In the past, the prize money pool dipped down only to fifth place. Mike Conley, USATF's executive director of elite athlete programs, said event winners receive $4,000, followed by $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth.

`This is the current list, but it could change by 2008,' Conley said. `I'm in favor of anything that benefits the athlete.'

Lananna said the proposed meet at Hayward Field would enable U.S. athletes to chase qualifying marks for either the Olympics or World Championships against highly competitive fields without immediately heading to Europe.

`We're working with the athletes advisory committee to determine the most appropriate time to put that meet,' he said.

This will be Eugene's fourth time hosting the U.S. Olympic Trials. They were previously held at Hayward Field in 1972, '76 and '80. Lananna said the entire 1980 U.S. Olympic track and field team would be invited to Eugene for the 2008 Trials.

`We're quite confident this community will embrace them and provide them with recognition 28 years later,' he said.

`Despite the fact that we might have a smaller population than some of the other cities, sometimes it's more about the great knowledge of track and field fans. Eugene had it in 1980, and that hasn't changed. If anything, it's become even more exciting and more intense.'

According to Jordan, ticket prices for the Trials have not yet been determined and further information probably won't be available until 2006.