Hayward Field is a track and field stadium located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus home of the varsity football team from 1919 through 1966. It is one of three World Athletics Class 1 Facilities in the United States, alongside E.B. Cushing Stadium and John McDonnell Field. Its elevation is approximately above sea level and its infield has a conventional north–south orientation. The Pacific Ocean is approximately to the west, separated by the Oregon Coast Range. Track and field competitions at the stadium are organized by the not-for-profit organization TrackTown USA.
Hayward Field was named after track coach Bill Hayward (1868–1947), who ran the Ducks' program from 1904 to 1947. It has been redeveloped and renovated multiple times throughout its history, with the latest occurring in 2018–20, in which the stadium was entirely rebuilt with financing by UO's philanthropic community – alumnus Phil Knight was the main donor.
History
Early years and football (1919–1966)
left|thumb|University of Oregon football game played at Hayward Field in 1920. Spectators can be seen on the roof of the east grandstand.
Hayward was built in 1919 to replace Kincaid Field, and was intended to primarily serve the school's football program. During halftime of the season opener that year, the venue was named for track coach Hayward; he was busy working as the team's trainer during the break, and did not know of the honor until the following day. A natural grass field was first installed at Hayward Field in 1937; the surface was previously a mixture of dirt and sawdust. That field surface was not unique in the Northwest in the Pacific Coast Conference: Bell Field in Corvallis, Multnomah Stadium in Portland, and Husky Stadium in Seattle made similar transitions to natural grass in this period of time. Even with these changes, by the 1950s, it was obvious that Hayward Field was at the end of its useful life as a football venue. It was one of the smallest stadiums in the University Division (forerunner of Division I), and only 9,000 tickets were available to the general public. While nearly every seat was protected from the elements, it had little else going for it. It was in such poor condition that coaches deliberately steered prospective recruits away from it on their visits to Eugene.
As a result, outside of the Civil War game with Oregon State, the Ducks played their higher-attended home games (in practice, nearly all of their conference games) at Portland's Multnomah Stadium, away. Athletic director Leo Harris chafed at making the Ducks make the two-hour trip to Portland three times a year, and pressed for a new stadium on land just north of campus. School president Arthur Flemming was initially skeptical of the project, and asked Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to evaluate whether it was feasible expand Hayward Field to up to 40,000 seats (believed to be the minimum capacity to justify moving the entire home slate to Eugene), build a new stadium on Hayward's footprint, or build a new stadium on the northern site. The study definitively ruled out Hayward Field as the site for a new or renovated football stadium. SOM believed that city officials would never sign off on expanding Hayward Field since it hadn't been built to code, and there was no room to build a new stadium on Hayward's footprint. Even if there had been room for a new stadium, the nearby streets could not handle the traffic and parking needed for a full slate of home games. Its replacement, Autzen Stadium, opened in September 1967, and Hayward Field became a facility solely for track and field,
Athletics and renovations (1967–2017)
The track was widened to eight lanes late in the summer of 1969 and converted to an all-weather surface that autumn. Its first synthetic track was Pro-Turf, Light in color, it was resurfaced with the same in 1976.
thumb|left|Hayward Field's western grandstand, opened in 1974.
Decayed and in disrepair, the original west grandstand was built in 1925 and its roof added demolished in and the finish line (for most events) was moved to the track's northeast corner for the 1974 season. The new west grandstand, also made of wood with a capacity of 4,300 spectators, was ready for use in March 1975. The Prefontaine Classic originated as the "Hayward Field Restoration Meet" to help raise funds for a new <!-- The area underneath the grandstand was enclosed in 1977 for use as practice area. -->
The track was converted to metric in the summer of 1987, its lap length changed from to 400 meters, a reduction of . The geometry of the track was changed to the international configuration, with shorter straights and longer turns. This widening of the infield required the relocation of the , 500-ton east grandstand, which was raised and moved east in March. The surface was again Pro-Turf, but with different surface properties; a textured top layer and a reddish color. As a result, Hayward Field has a training room, two lockers rooms for male and female athletes, a team room, a meeting room, an indoor pole vault pit, an indoor shot-put pit, an indoor sand pit, a nutrition shop, a barber shop and an indoor weight room.
The Hayward Field Tower was inspired by the Olympic Torch. It has nine stories and was completed in 2020 by Zahner. It stands on the northeast corner of the stadium and depicts five figures, reflecting the first 100 years of Oregon Track and Field: Bill Bowerman, Steve Prefontaine, Raevyn Rogers, Ashton Eaton and Otis Davis. After a donation in 1990 by Bill Bowerman (1911–1999), UO's longtime track coach (1948–1973), the Bowerman Building was added to the northwest of the track, housing locker rooms, U of O track memorabilia and the university's International Institute for Sport and Human Performance.
Events
thumb|A scene during the [[2022 World Athletics Championships – Men's 100 metres|men's 100 metres final of the 2022 World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field.]]
Hayward Field has hosted USATF championships in 1986, 1993, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2022 and the Olympic trials in 1972, 1976, 1980, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. It has been the site of numerous NCAA championships, USATF Elite Running Circuit events, and the annual Nike Prefontaine Classic. The Olympic trials were hosted 2021 in the