UI could get world-class track after Oregon championships

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa athletes next year could go from running on one of the worst tracks in the Big Ten to one of world-class quality thanks to an opportunity that required 'emergency' approval.

For a 'discounted' price of $2.6 million, the university wants to buy the prefabricated, portable, indoor banked track that first will be used for the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Portland, Ore., according to Board of Regents documents.

Beynon Sports Surfaces is providing the track new for the March 2016 event at an original cost of $4 million, and UI officials were given the chance to take it afterward for about two-thirds the price.

The purchase includes delivery, installation, additional lanes for warm up, custom coloring, resurfacing, and a 10-year warranty, according to the documents. But the university had to commit to the purchase by Feb. 13 or risk losing it.

'The University of Iowa reports that this equipment purchase is critical to the University of Iowa Intercollegiate Athletics department,' according to regent documents.

Equipment purchases of more than $1 million at Iowa's public universities require Board of Regents approval. The board's executive director can approve 'emergency' purchases, which he did in this case Feb. 12, but the full board must ratify the move for it to proceed.

The board will consider ratifying the track purchase next week at its meeting in Iowa City.

'This major investment will positively impact (UI's) 100-plus men and women track and field athletes,' according to the documents.

Not to mention the fans, university, and community, officials reported.

Among its listed benefits, UI officials say the new track will improve the quality of indoor meets by attracting nationally ranked teams 'to a top 5 facility in America,' and it will improve coaches' ability to recruit.

The state-of-the-art equipment will replace the existing track in the Recreation Building, which is used by UI intercollegiate track teams for practice and competitions. The UI's Recreation Building was erected in 1969, its current track was installed in 2002, and Joey Woody, director of UI Track and Field and Cross Country, said the 'entire track surface is starting to wear down.'

'The start area is torn up from practice and competitions,' he said in an email to The Gazette. 'The paint is wearing off. There are some high stress areas that will need to be replaced soon.'

Swapping in the new track next year will result in more meets on campus, cutting travel costs, reducing missed classes for athletes, and increasing revenue for the university, according to regent documents. Most indoor track championships are run on a banked track, like the one UI wants to acquire, meaning the campus also could attract higher quality competition to its 'fast track' and produce NCAA-qualifying performances.

Right now, Woody said, UI hosts just one or two college meets a year, one high school meet, and some winter camps.

The surface construction of these types of tracks minimizes athlete injuries, according to regent documents, and officials expect to keep athletes healthier during the long training season from November to April 'on a more forgiving banked track compared to the tight curves of a flat track.'

If approved, delivery and installation is expected in late spring or summer of 2016.