Post by Capt Aggie on Sept 14, 2004 7:24:17 GMT -5
www.newsandrecord.com/sports/local/track_091404.htm
Top track meet picks Greensboro
9-14-04
By Jim Young Staff Writer
News & Record
When Greensboro narrowly lost out last winter on bringing the U.S.A. Track and Field Youth Nationals to town, one of the city's alleged shortcomings was that it had never hosted an elite-level track meet previously.
This one would fit the bill.
On Saturday night, the board of directors of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation voted unanimously to hold the adidas Outdoor Championships, the top high school track meet in the country, in Greensboro next year.
"Our people were just totally impressed when they went for the visit,'' said A.J. Holzherr, a member of the foundations' board, as well as its business development director. "Just absolutely floored."
The deal is not yet done, though. The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the Sports Commission will make a presentation on Thursday to the Guilford County Commissioners, and the commissioners will then vote on whether to give $25,000 in funding to the foundation.
"We're excited and this is a great opportunity,'' said sports commission president Marc Bush. "Beyond that, we're reluctant to say a whole lot until we've had a chance to publicly confirm this with all our partners."
If the commissioners vote in favor of the funding, the foundation still needs to hammer out deals with A&T for use of the facility and with local hotels for lodging. But Holzherr expressed no concerns about those final steps. Rather, he heaped more praise on Greensboro and A&T, which would take over hosting duties from Raleigh and N.C. State.
"This is not a criticism of Raleigh, it's just that we believe that this is a step up,'' Holzherr said. "That's important to us. Greensboro is a step up."
Among the things that pleased Holzherr was a meeting last Thursday with A&T chancellor James Renick and athletics director Charlie Davis. That demonstrated a level of interest that was never present with N.C. State, Holzherr said.
"To see them get behind us was significant,'' Holzherr said.
Holzherr also believes the meet should be able to draw more spectators in Greensboro than Raleigh, where he estimated the crowds were usually around 6,000 people.
Then there was A&T's track, which meets both national and international specifications.
"The facilities are world class,'' Holzherr said. "There's nothing we could find that they don't have."
The world class facilities would be appropriate for the level of talent that would come to Greensboro for the adidas outdoor championships. Sixty percent of the members of the U.S. track and field team that competed in Athens competed in the adidas outdoor championships when they were in high school.
"It will be another example of why Guilford County is fast becoming one of the top amateur sports locations in the country,'' said Mike Barber, at-large county commissioner.
Top track meet picks Greensboro
9-14-04
By Jim Young Staff Writer
News & Record
When Greensboro narrowly lost out last winter on bringing the U.S.A. Track and Field Youth Nationals to town, one of the city's alleged shortcomings was that it had never hosted an elite-level track meet previously.
This one would fit the bill.
On Saturday night, the board of directors of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation voted unanimously to hold the adidas Outdoor Championships, the top high school track meet in the country, in Greensboro next year.
"Our people were just totally impressed when they went for the visit,'' said A.J. Holzherr, a member of the foundations' board, as well as its business development director. "Just absolutely floored."
The deal is not yet done, though. The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the Sports Commission will make a presentation on Thursday to the Guilford County Commissioners, and the commissioners will then vote on whether to give $25,000 in funding to the foundation.
"We're excited and this is a great opportunity,'' said sports commission president Marc Bush. "Beyond that, we're reluctant to say a whole lot until we've had a chance to publicly confirm this with all our partners."
If the commissioners vote in favor of the funding, the foundation still needs to hammer out deals with A&T for use of the facility and with local hotels for lodging. But Holzherr expressed no concerns about those final steps. Rather, he heaped more praise on Greensboro and A&T, which would take over hosting duties from Raleigh and N.C. State.
"This is not a criticism of Raleigh, it's just that we believe that this is a step up,'' Holzherr said. "That's important to us. Greensboro is a step up."
Among the things that pleased Holzherr was a meeting last Thursday with A&T chancellor James Renick and athletics director Charlie Davis. That demonstrated a level of interest that was never present with N.C. State, Holzherr said.
"To see them get behind us was significant,'' Holzherr said.
Holzherr also believes the meet should be able to draw more spectators in Greensboro than Raleigh, where he estimated the crowds were usually around 6,000 people.
Then there was A&T's track, which meets both national and international specifications.
"The facilities are world class,'' Holzherr said. "There's nothing we could find that they don't have."
The world class facilities would be appropriate for the level of talent that would come to Greensboro for the adidas outdoor championships. Sixty percent of the members of the U.S. track and field team that competed in Athens competed in the adidas outdoor championships when they were in high school.
"It will be another example of why Guilford County is fast becoming one of the top amateur sports locations in the country,'' said Mike Barber, at-large county commissioner.
