Eastern Washington University’s track resurfacing project at Roos Field is sprinting toward completion.
The $2.4 million project, which got underway in early May after being announced last fall, is expected to reach the finish line in late August, right before the Eagles first home football game.
With basic upgrades aimed at improving safety for track and field athletes and meeting NCAA performance standards, the renovation will put Eastern back on the map for hosting competitions. It also sets the stage for bigger things to come with the broader Stadium Renovation Project.
It’s an exciting moment, says Tim Collins, associate vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics. After seven years of traveling to every competition, Eastern’s track and field athletes can now host meets on their own home turf and compete in front of their friends and families, he says.
“I was very excited to share with the Big Sky that we can be put back in the rotation to host for our conference championship” says Collins, who recently announced that Eastern is now scheduled to host the 2031 Big Sky Conference Championship.
The resurfacing project also includes some accommodations for high school-level events, which opens the door for Eastern to once again be a competitive bidder for State B and other major tournaments, events that bring large numbers of prospective students to the Cheney campus.
Erin Tucker, director of track and field for the university, plans to partner with Cheney High School, Spokane Sports (formerly the Spokane Regional Sports Commission), and local track clubs to bring regional and state meets back to Eastern.
“Having thousands of middle and high school students on campus in late spring and summer is an absolutely amazing recruiting tool for Eastern Washington University,” Tucker says. Another priority, Tucker continues, is to schedule a track meet so that current senior team members, who’ve never been able to compete in their home stadium, can participate in a true home meet before they graduate.
While track and field athletes will be the primary beneficiaries of the new track, Tucker says the surface will also be available to athletes competing for other EWU teams. “I know our strength and conditioning staff cannot wait to train their various teams on the new track.”
In addition, there will be designated hours during which students, faculty and staff who want to walk or run laps as part of their own fitness routines can access the track.
All this marks a major milestone for Eastern track and field, which was forced to stop hosting collegiate meets back in 2019 due to the heightened injury risk presented by the deterioration of the old track and field facilities.
Tim Raver, the university’s construction project manager, says the new track meets NCAA’s standards of percentage for slope and flatness while providing the enhanced shock absorbency needed to protect athletes from injury.
This week, a crew will begin applying a high-tech granulate and polyurethane surface over the newly laid asphalt base. The final step, he adds, will be painting striping — the regulation lines, lanes and start/finish marks that will serve both collegiate and high school track events.
The project was designed by ALSC Architects and constructed by Halme-Cascade with landscaping by SPVV Landscape Architects.
The work included demolishing and replacing the track and its curbing, and creating specialized zones for the long jump, pole vault, steeplechase and shotput, Raver says. In addition, new sidewalks, fencing and extra gates for maintenance vehicles were added.
While the track was torn up, additional technology and electrical infrastructure was created so that, as stadium renovation progresses, the new track won’t need to be displaced. “We just did the best we could, within this footprint, to imagine the things that we would need later,” says Raver.
Ongoing meetings helped with the initial planning and in identifying best practices for caring for the track to maximize its lifespan. “It has been a big effort – a huge team effort – with facilities and athletics,” Raver says. “Athletics has been amazing to work with.”
The upgraded track will complete another phase in the larger Stadium Renovation Project, which is modernizing the Roos Field complex. Built in1967, the stadium lacks modern-day amenities, such as comfortable seating and up-to-date concessions and bathrooms, that fans have come to expect when visiting a college stadium.
Private donors have pitched in $6.6 million to date to renovate the stadium, with local businessman Jack Gillingham making a generous gift to replace its iconic red turf several years ago.
Now that Eastern has taken this step to address safety and functionality, Collins believes the renovation project will gain momentum. “This renovation kind of reimagines this facility for greater usage, but then it also sets the stage for future renovations to the stadium as well.”
TRACK RENOVATION PROJECT GALLERY
