Sacramento sports czar speaks on 2011 masters bid
Sacramento Bee track writer John Schumacher wrote a little piece on Sacto’s bid for the 2011 World Masters Athletic Championships, and quotes the city’s sports czar as saying: “That was kind of the appeal, the international attraction. They tend to have a little more disposable income. This one just kind of became available.” This and another recent story also notes the departure of big meets like the Olympic Trials and NCAA championships for other locales.
Here’s the story:
City bids for masters track meet
Sacramento has submitted a bid to host the World Masters Athletics Championships, an international age-group track and field meet, in 2011.
Porto Alegre, Brazil, is the other city vying to host the 10-day meet, which would feature approximately 5,000 athletes 35 and older, according to John McCasey, the Sacramento Sports Commission’s executive director.
A decision is expected next September.
Sacramento hosted the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2000 and 2004 and the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2006. The capital city also will host the NCAA meet next year.
But those big meets are headed elsewhere. The Olympic Trials were awarded to Eugene, Ore., for 2008, and the NCAA recently opted to hold its premier meet elsewhere from 2008 through 2010. The NCAA championships will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2008, Fayetteville, Ark., in 2009 and Eugene in 2010.
“We need to do some work on the facility,” McCasey said of planned improvements to Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium. “We need to take a pause.”
