Friday, April 30, 2021
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Spokane Sports are partnering to bring the conference’s indoor track & field championships to the region’s newest and best venue, The Podium in downtown Spokane, Washington.
The two entities have entered into an agreement to hold the conference championships from 2022 to 2024. The venue, which features a banked 200-meter international championship-caliber track, will open in fall 2021. The 2022 GNAC Championships are scheduled to take place on Monday, February 21 and Tuesday, February 22.
The GNAC is the first collegiate conference to partner with Spokane Sports to hold its indoor track and field championship at The Podium. The facility is scheduled to host the 2022 USATF Indoor Championships just days after the conclusion of the GNAC Championships on February 25 and 26.
“We are extremely excited to bring our indoor track and field championships to The Podium, surely one of the finest venues of its kind, anywhere,” said GNAC commissioner Dave Haglund. “We are especially proud to be the first NCAA conference announcing The Podium as the new home for its indoor track and field championships. The GNAC has had a long and successful relationship with Spokane Sports -- including our collaboration in co-hosting the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships in 2011 and 2013 in Spokane – and we know our student-athletes will be eager to experience all that this $56 million, state-of-the-art venue has to offer. As part of our agreement, we are thrilled to reveal that in each of the next three years our two-day championship will kick off on Presidents’ Day, which will provide an opportunity for even more spectators to enjoy outstanding Division II competition in a world-class venue.”
The Podium continues the region’s long-standing history with the sport of running. The venue features a state-of-the-art, 200-meter six-lane hydraulic banked track with a Beynon rubberized surface and fixed seating for 3,000 athletes and fans. The track is one of the few 200-meter hydraulic banked tracks in the U.S. and is the first in the western U.S.
In addition to the hydraulic track, The Podium will boast two throwing cages, two horizontal jump pits, high jump and pole vault pits and an eight-lane 60-meter sprint straightaway on the infield. The venue will be outfitted with Gill equipment. The facility also includes a temperature-controlled warm-up track on the lower level, a spectator level with concessions, and an entire floor dedicated to media, press, and timing.
The Podium is located in downtown Spokane, adjacent to both the Spokane Arena and Riverfront Park–the site of the 1974 World’s Fair, and is within walking distance to hotels, restaurants and entertainment.
"Spokane is honored to host the GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships at The Podium,” said Eric Sawyer, President and CEO of Spokane Sports. “The GNAC is the first collegiate conference to commit to the new venue, and has been a strong supporter of the project from the beginning. We are looking forward to a long partnership with the conference, Commissioner Haglund and his team for many years to come.”
The GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships moves to Spokane from Nampa, Idaho, where the event had been held since the conference first sponsored the sport in 2003-04. In fall 2020, Boise State University and the Ford Idaho Center announced that the facility would no longer serve as an indoor track & field venue, prompting the GNAC to find a new home for its championship meet.
ABOUT SPOKANE SPORTS
Spokane Sports actively recruits national sports events to the region while developing local clubs and advocating for local sports facility development–all with the goal of making Spokane a prime community for sports. Learn more by visiting us online.
ABOUT THE GNAC
One of the leading conferences in NCAA Division II, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference is home to 10 full-member institutions located in five states and Canada. Headquartered outside of Portland, Ore., the GNAC sponsors championships in 17 sports (nine women’s, eight men’s).