|
Los Angeles to host
2006 World Cup
IAAF event be held at The Home Depot National Training Center
MADRID, Spain - The IAAF World Cup in Athletics will be held in the United
States for the first time ever in 2006, International Association of
Athletics Federations President Lamine Diack and USA Track & Field
CEO Craig
Masback announced Thursday.
The 2006 IAAF World Cup will be contested at The Home Depot National
Training Center, a world-class 85-acre amateur and professional sports
development currently under construction in the greater Los Angeles area
on
the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills. The 2006 World
Cup is slated to be a four-day holiday celebration of track and field,
with
three days of competition and one day of opening ceremonies taking place
over Labor Day weekend.
Diack and Masback made the announcement at media activities for the 2002
IAAF World Cup, the ninth edition of which will be held Friday and Saturday
in Madrid.
"USATF has been working hard to bring an international meet of this
caliber
to the United States," Masback said. "We appreciate Lamine's
support and the
high priority he has put on having major events in the U.S. We look forward
to an outstanding meet and to welcoming the world's best track and field
athletes to Los Angeles."
Five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones, competing in Madrid, is one
world-beating athlete who is expected to compete in Los Angeles in 2006.
Born in Los Angeles, Jones graduated from Thousand Oaks High School in
1993.
“"Every time I go back to California, it's like I'm going
home,” Jones said.
“To get the chance to go back to the place of my birth for a major
championship will be one of the highlights of my career."
A coalition of USA Track & Field (USATF), AEG and the Los Angeles
Sports
Council offered up the successful bid. The World Cup will be the first
major
IAAF event on U.S. soil since Boston hosted the 1992 World Cross Country
Championships, and it will be perhaps the biggest international track
and
field event ever held on U.S. soil, outside of the Olympics.
"The Home Depot National Training Center is being created specifically
to
host world class events like the 2006 IAAF World Cup as well as being
the
most complete training center for amateur and professional athletes in
the
country,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, President, AEG. “We thank
President
Lamine Diack and the IAAF for their faith in selecting The Home Depot
National Training Center for the World Cup. We pledge on behalf of AEG
and
our partners at USA Track & Field and the Los Angeles Sports Council
to
present the best-ever World Cup, showcasing the world's finest athletes."
"Without the backing of AEG and the L.A. Sports Council, this would
not have
been possible," Masback added. "Both organizations have a proven
track
record of putting on world-class events, and hosting the World Cup takes
that track record to another level."
Held every four years, the World Cup holds the distinction of being the
IAAF's only team-scoring event in track and field. A points-based format
of
team competition, the World Cup pits Team USA against five continental
squads from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. The top two
men’
s and women’s teams from the European Cup also earn World Cup bids.
At stake are world bragging rights and hefty prize money – In 2004
the total
purse up for grabs is $3,022,500. Just one athlete from each team competes
in each event, and points are awarded ranging from nine points for a
first-place finish down to one point.
"A team competition involving the USA and the rest of the world
should work
very well," Diack said. "It fits in with the IAAF's long-term
strategy to
help strengthen our sport in the USA."
The Home Depot National Training Center is a unique 85-acre "sports
campus"
set to open in June 2003. The state-of-the-art, multi-sport complex will
feature a 10,000-seat track & field stadium – expandable to
20,000 seats for
major competitions – a 27,000-seat soccer stadium that will be the
new home
of the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy, a 13,000-seat tennis stadium, an
Olympic-standard velodrome, and facilities for softball, baseball,
basketball and inline roller hockey. The development will also serve as
the
home of the U.S. Soccer Federation and the Pete Sampras Tennis Academy.
AEG's creation of the $130 million multi-facility training center and
venues
represents the largest private investment into amateur athletics ever
made
in the United States.
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the
world.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation, AEG owns or controls
a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center,
the
London Arena, The Forum, HealthSouth Training Center and the Kodak Theater;
five MLS franchises, six hockey franchises operated in Europe, and oversees
portions of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA);
and
Spring Communications, devoted to creation and marketing of live events
for
pay-per-view and other electronic media.
Formed in 1988 as a private, nonprofit organization, the Los Angeles
Sports
Council works to bring major sporting events and teams to Los Angeles
County. Among the events that the Council has had a hand in bringing to
the
area are the 1993 Super Bowl, 1997 Breeders' Cup, 1994 FIFA World Cup
in
soccer, 1999 Women's World Cup in soccer, 2002 U.S. Figure Skating
Championships and the 2003 World Gymnastics Championships.
"Having hosted two Olympics and numerous other world class meets,
track and
field has played an important part in our city's illustrious sports
history," said David Simon, president of the L.A. Sports Council.
" The 2006
World Cup will be the most significant track competition held here since
the
'84 Games, and we look forward to watching the world's best compete in
our
new stadium."
USA Track & Field is the national governing body for track and field,
long
distance running and race walking. The organization develops, selects
and
leads Team USA at international competitions, including the IAAF World
Cup,
IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games. With nearly 100,000 members,
57
Associations and 2,500 clubs nationwide, USATF administers the sport from
the grassroots/youth level to the Olympic stage.
Dyestat Cal News
|
is published
by 