- Ticket package prices for the 2020 Olympic Track Trials—which will be held in Eugene, Oregon, from June 19-28, 2020s—have increased compared to the 2016 Trials.
- Package prices will range from $440 to $795, compared to $295 to $585 for the 2016 packages.
- The price increases are coming from the commitments TrackTown USA made to USA Track and Field during the bidding process.
Ticket prices for the 2020 Olympic Track Trials—which will determine which athletes will represent the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics—will rise noticeably from their 2016 levels.
For the 2020 event, prices are currently ranging from $440 to $795 for all-session packages, which is a significant increases from the 2016 ticket packages, which ranged from $295 to $585. Olympic Track Trials for the 10-day event in Eugene, Oregon, which will be hosted by local organizing committee TrackTown USA—a non-profit that hosts premier running events—for the fourth-consecutive time.
The price increases are coming from the commitments TrackTown USA made to USA Track and Field during the bidding process. The venue, the legendary Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, will also undergo renovations beforehand.
“This is the number one domestic meet in the U.S. and happens once every four years,” Michael Reilly, CEO of TrackTown USA, told Runner’s World. “We are fortunate in this community to have conducted the Olympic Trials in 2008, 2012, and 2016. We competed with many other talented cities who wanted to host, so we had to set the bar higher and put forward a bid package with commitments that elevate the experience again.
The upgraded venue will have more seating—a total of 12,500 seats in the grandstand—than the previous stadium. This does not include additional seating on the north end of the track that will be set up for the event, as was done in 2016.
The stands will also have individual seating for the first time, as opposed to the bleachers that have traditionally been offered. The seats will also be lower on the track, so that the first row is level around the entire track, offering a closer look at the action. This will give fans outside of the east grandstands a chance to get high fives from athletes during their victory laps.
“It is being described as a theater of track and field,” Reilly said. “We believe that America’s track and field athletes will put on some of the best performances in the world, so we are doing everything we can to give them the best environment for those performances to shine through.”
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Despite the price increases, fans do not have to fret yet about missing their chance to get a glimpse of the action. Single-session tickets will go live next spring, and will vary in price.
There are also talks about possibly making some of the qualifying rounds free to the public. The same was done in 2016 for the men’s and women’s shot put and hammer throw qualifying round, where fans were able to watch the events from the track.
Even if you can’t make it into the stadium, outside the stadium will boast booths, vendors, and activities related to the Trials. There will also be a video board outside for fans to watch the action.
“What you are going to see is a lifetime of amazing work as these athletes pursue their Olympic dreams,” Reilly said. “We get to see times, records, and speed, but when you stop and think about what it represents and the cut-throat nature of making the U.S. Track and Field Team, the drama is there. That’s the value in the experience.”
Tickets packages go on sale today and will be available through August 31. A maximum of eight ticket packages can be purchased.
Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
