FACILITY & OPERATIONS

••Iayward Held is commonlyheralded as "the CarnegieHall of track and field" and

• rightfully so. NQ other facil-ity has such a rich history

or is as highly regarded by both athletes andfans as the ultimate venue to compete at andexperience the sport.

Located in Eugene, Oregon, it is thehome field of the University of Oregon (Va)Ducks. It has hosted [line NCAA nationalchampionship meets, the 1999 and 2001USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships,and three consecutive U.S. Olympic Trialsbetween J972 and 1980.]02005, Hayward

22 March 2008

Hayward Field before the renovation. University of Oregon

Field was selected as the host site for the 2008Olympic Trials.

Although Hayward Field hosted severalUS. Olympic Trials, 25 years had passed bysince its last one. Standards for a meet ofinternational signifICance have changed inthat time, and [he winning bid was contingenton a number of facility improvements. Tn par-ticular, a major recooflgcrarion of the infieldwas necessary.

Team buildingRenovating the infield of this venerable

facility was a complex task that required manyspecialized skills and exceptional teamwork.

The UO commissioned Cameron McCarthyGilbert & Scheibe (CMGS) as the primaryconsultant for the field renovation work. TVAArchitects was selected by UO to designarchitectural improvements and serve as theconsultant of record. Paige Design Groupof Bahama, NC was enlisted as the trackand field specialist and Balzhiscr HubbardEngineers of Eugene joined the team to pro-vide civil am;! electrical engineering.

Soon after the designers initiated theirschematic work, McKenaic Commercialof Eugene was selected as the CI\1/GC(Construction Manager/General Contractor).This allowed va to establish a maximum

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FACILITY & OPERATIONSprice and more comfortably implement the improvements wirbinthe given time constraints. Once these pieces were in place, specialtysubcontractors were brought aboard. Of particular significance to theinfield improvements is Rexius of Eugene, the landscape contractor incharge of drainage, irrigation, rooting material, and Hod components.Having Rexius involved early in the process allowed CMGS to testvarious design strategies for consrructabilitv and get feedback QrI prod-uct options for feasibility and availability.

The client provided significant input throughout the design andconstruction processes through various stakeholders including theirproject manager, track and field coaches and athletic field managers.

Hayward Field was constructed for football in 1919, with a 6-1aneoval track oval added two years later. Before its use as a sports field,the site was a marshland, quite literally used for duck hunting. Onlyafter building up the playingsurface with fill with a crownin the center for surface drain-age, was it marginally accept-ahle for sporting events. Thefield served dual purpose until1967 when football relocatedto a new stadium. Since thattime Hayward Field has beenan exclusive track and fieldcomplex. In 1983, more soilwas added to the perimeterof the infield to establish avirtual plateau that provided amore acceptable landing sur-face for throwing events.

The existing plateauconfiguration was function-al, but far from ideal. Theroughly 2 foot differentialof grade between the trackoval edge and center of thefield obstructed sight linesfor coaches trying to observefootwork from one side to theother. It also meant there wasan awkward transition (steepslope) of lawn from the edge of the landing areas to the edge of thetrack. A perforated pipe drainage system had been installed years ear-lier, but had silted up to the point where it provided little value duringthe Pacific Northwest's precipitous months.

The new layout needed to accommodate a number of modernlogistical and practical considerations. Preferably, dual runway andthrowing circles for each individual event are located directly adjacentto one another. The jumping events must have 'flipping" capability torespond to unpredictable and varying wind conditions. The landingareas for throws must accommodate world record distances. In addi-tion, the existing inside perimeter of the oval could not be altered dueto budgetary and physical constraints.

Another direction given to C1'vIGS was that each individual event

space needed to be dearly distinguished from the others. This is ahistoric and unique aspect of Hayward Field. A majority of other trackand field complexes integrate synrbetic runways and throwing areasinto the sides and turns of the oval.

The design team developed nearly a dozen configuration and layoutoptions for the field events. The final accepted configuration providedfour pole vault runways, four long jump/triple jump runways and sandpits, rwo high jump areas, rwn shot put circles and landing areas, andone discus circle/cage and javelin runway that share a landing sector.The steeplechase water jump was maintained on the interior side ofthe oval in turn 3.

Parallel with the decision on a new layout was a commitment to

replacing the soil field with one that is sand based and incorporatesa new subgrade drainage system. Such an approach would solve the

An artist's illustration of Hayward Field as it will appear duringthe 2008 Olympic Trials. TVA Architects

24 March 2008

myriad of problems and shortcomings of the existing field, includingthe elimination of the plateau. It also allowed for the layout of fieldevents to be a bit "tighter" since the extent of grade transitions aregreatly diminished on a virtually Hat field. CMCS and Paige Designworked together to get the new elevations within the tight tolerancesof international standards: 1:1000 slope in the running and throwingdirection and 1:100 cross-slope for most events.

There was a great deal of comfort from the UO's perspective onswitching to a sand-based Held as they had implemented such fieldsfor their football and soccer programs approximately 7 year~ prior.Since that time their management staff had fine-tuned strategies tovery effectively maintain them.

Once a general layout had been selected and the commitment to

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FACILITY & OPERATIONS

Undcr consrrucnonOn June 10,2007 the Nike Prcfontainc

Classic was held at Hay, vard as the lastevent on the old infield. At the close ofthe meet, a trackhoe ceremoniously brokeground in front of a sizable crowd whostuck around to experience the historicmoment. Within days, the earthwork crewwas in full force. They peeled away thelayers of fill that had been placed during various improvement projectsover the decades and then started to hit the subgrade that predatedthe original 1919 construction. They discovered that in many areasthe conditions were far worse than anticipated. Significant amounts of

a sand-based field made firm, the designteam proceeded with the complex task ofsorting out the various networks for irriga-tion, subgrade drainage and other utilities.A requirement set by UO for the irrigationwas that all of the runway surfaces were tobe kept as free from overspray as possible.This was in response to frustrations withthe prior watering system that grosslysprayed all surfaces within the field. Itnot only made use of the event surfacesmore challenging, it also shortened theirlifespan

The prior irrigation system was simplis-tic. It had 8 zones and approximately 40large rotor heads. Due to VO's insistenceregarding overspray and the tightness offield event layout-there were many nar-row lawn strips 5-feet in width- thenew irrigation was a much more intricatesystem. The new system has 23 zones andmore than 700 individual irrigation heads.Rotor heads are only used in the largelanding area lawn, and the remainder arespray type to control throw within tightareas. Valve boxes, for both irrigation andcommunications, were carefully locatedon the site plan to not detract from theaesthetics of the facility.

Four-inch perforated pipe was selectedfor subgrade drainage of the sand-basedficld. It is spaced 20 feet on center for thelarge landing area lawn and tailored tobest suit the 5paces in between field eventfacilities. Perf. pipe is placed at the edgeof all runway and track surfaces to col-lett concentrated sheet runoff. Cleanoutsfor the drainage system are strategicallyplaced to facilitate flushing out shouldsilting become a problem in the future.

26 March 2008

Irrigation and drainage Installed in one of the narrow lawn strips. Rexlus

heavy day and organic soils were frequent and deep. This material wascertainly unsuitable as subgradc for the new sand-based field. Over-excavation, up to a-feet deep in some places, was required. Bar run andcrushed rock were imported to replace the poor soils.

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FACILITY & OPERATIONS"Subgrade was one of the biggest chal-

lenges of the whole field", said Don-Delaplainof Redus. Replacing that material had rippleeffects; nearly the underground pipe wouldneed to gu through rock instead of soil. Asa result, conventional trenching was not anoption. According to Delaplain, ~\Ve had tobackhoe or hand trench everything."

The specifications for the sand rootingmedium of this high performance field werequite particular. The product was sourcedfrom the Columbia River and supplied byGlacier Northwest. This type of sand is coin-

The sod installation. CMGS Landscape Architects

cidentally used as a topdressing medium ongolf courses, and is in high demand in thesummer months. Anticipating a potentialsupply shortfall, Rexius made a strategicmove to secure enough material for the jobseveral months in advance of its placementand rented a vacant lot nearby to temporarilystore it.

The sod, consisting of a specifled perennialrycgrass mix, was contracted through OregonTurf on a plot in the Yakima River valley in\Vashington. It was grown on a sand-basedmix similar to the sand specified for the root-ing medium to assure compatibility with therooting medium placed below. Sad layingstarted in late October and finished in 7 days

28 March 2008

using an eight-person crew.Aside from the complications caused by

unforeseen subgrade conditions, the installa-tion process went smoothly. Within a monthof install, the roots of the rurfgrass had pro-gressed 4 inches into the rooting medium, animpressive feat in Oregon during November.

The VO will soon assume responsibil-ity for upkeep of the field. Eric Fasbender,CSFM, UO athletic department groundsmanager, notes that this field will be differentthan their other sand based facilities in that"it's much more based on aesthetics." It will

not be exposed to nearly the type of wear andrear that is inherent with other sports, such asfootball or soccer.

Asked if they will implement a new mow-ing pattern for the field, Fasbender chuckledand said, "Ron is too old-school and tradi-tional" referring to Ron Perkins, HaywardField's long-time field manager. He added,"Just like Wrigley Field, you always expect tosec the checkerboard."

Hayward Field will reopen this spring forUO practice and meets. The Olympic trialswill be held between June 27 and July 6. Dueto exceptional teamwork between designers,contractors and UO, all parties involved areconfident and excited about the days aheadwhen the new and improved Hayward Fieldis revealed to a global audience.

Although the team involved will know andvalue the improvements that were made, whatwill be most appreciated by athletes and fansis what has remained constant-the magicalHayward Field experience. •

Matther<.UK Scheibe is a principal at CMGSLandscape Architects in Eugene. Data JOr thi~ arti-de was provided by Larry Gilbert, ASLA (prin-cipal), Colin M<.Arthur, AlCP {project designer),and Aaron Olsen [associatedesigner). Additionalintormaiion at crngsla.com.

Substantial Completion of the south side: runways, throwing circlesand landing pits. McKenzie Commercial

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