Eugene & Des Moines have had a bit of a stranglehold on the hosting of the USATF Championships in recent years, but they are apparently now getting competition from a pair of California sites. Sacramento is being bandied about as a potential host for next year’s meet, but the buzz is that they won’t take on the task unless they also get a year that has a World Champs Trials attached to it. The site would be Sac State, which hosted the Olympic Trials of ’00 and ’04. Unfortunately, since then the infield has been replaced with artificial turf, which mandates the long throws outside the stadium, a situation which didn’t go over well in Des Moines this year. Meanwhile, in SoCal, Mt. SAC’s Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut will undergo a major overhaul starting in June of next year. Plans call for a new complex to feature an IAAF-level track, warmup oval and revamped stadium. Mt. SAC officials want to bid for the ’20 Trials. The Nationals were previously held at Mt. SAC in ’62, ’79 & ’80.
