On Friday morning, members of the Cal State Stanislaus track and field teams were warming up and getting ready for the upcoming season. Nearby, coach Geoff Bradshaw talked about their anticipation.
“They’re already preparing for it,” he said.
For what?
Well, that’d be the biggest event the school has hosted since the opening of the $16.1 million Student Recreation Complex that opened last August. Thanks to a group led by Turlock City Councilwoman Amy Bublak, the Warriors will welcome the 2011 NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships at the new Al Brenda Track at Warrior Stadium on May 26-28.
It is expected to bring in an estimated revenue of $500,000 to the city of Turlock and surrounding areas, pumping in money to the local hotels and businesses that are within a few miles of the Stanislaus campus. About 1,000 athletes, coaches and supporters from across the nation are expected to attend the three-day event.
The announcement was made Wednesday, though an initial report incorrectly stated the dates of the national championships. This will mark the first time the school will host a national event since the D-II men’s golf championships at the Turlock Golf and Country Club in 2000, let alone a national track event.
Between those championships, Stanislaus didn’t bother lobbying for such an event until the unveiling of the SRC.
Bublak, also an All-American track and field athlete and Hall of Famer at Stanislaus and the wife of Warriors athletic director Milt Richards, led a delegation to Indiana in October to propose the idea of hosting the national championships. Kim Duyst, the Stanislaus associate director, was present as chair of the NCAA D-II Track and Field Committee, though she could not vote but offer insight about Turlock.
“The university and the city has led individual lives and we’re trying to work together — [Stanislaus] President [Hamid] Shirvani uses the term marriage — for this great opportunity to work hand-in-hand to show our city and our county,” said Bublak, whose team consisted of Richards and Desa Basulto, the Turlock Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director.
Warrior Stadium offers plenty. It holds 2,100 seats and boasts a new timing system and a rarely used track, with the school using the stadium for men’s and women’s soccer games.
CBS will also be in attendance in May 2011, broadcasting segments of the events.
“It puts our brand new sports complex on a national scene,” President Shirvani said, adding that he hopes the event will lead to hosting other national championships, such as in soccer. “It will really showcase it. We want the visitors to have a welcoming experience so they can tell other people in their own community back home how great our university and city are. It will also have a very positive, strong impact on the city, and that’s very, very important. It’s the beginning of a time where the university is going to have a major recreational entertainment impact on the region.”
Diljeet Taylor, the cross country coach, will be the meet director.
“We’re going to do our best to put on a good show,” she said, while her track athletes continued training.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.
“They’re already preparing for it,” he said.
For what?
Well, that’d be the biggest event the school has hosted since the opening of the $16.1 million Student Recreation Complex that opened last August. Thanks to a group led by Turlock City Councilwoman Amy Bublak, the Warriors will welcome the 2011 NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships at the new Al Brenda Track at Warrior Stadium on May 26-28.
It is expected to bring in an estimated revenue of $500,000 to the city of Turlock and surrounding areas, pumping in money to the local hotels and businesses that are within a few miles of the Stanislaus campus. About 1,000 athletes, coaches and supporters from across the nation are expected to attend the three-day event.
The announcement was made Wednesday, though an initial report incorrectly stated the dates of the national championships. This will mark the first time the school will host a national event since the D-II men’s golf championships at the Turlock Golf and Country Club in 2000, let alone a national track event.
Between those championships, Stanislaus didn’t bother lobbying for such an event until the unveiling of the SRC.
Bublak, also an All-American track and field athlete and Hall of Famer at Stanislaus and the wife of Warriors athletic director Milt Richards, led a delegation to Indiana in October to propose the idea of hosting the national championships. Kim Duyst, the Stanislaus associate director, was present as chair of the NCAA D-II Track and Field Committee, though she could not vote but offer insight about Turlock.
“The university and the city has led individual lives and we’re trying to work together — [Stanislaus] President [Hamid] Shirvani uses the term marriage — for this great opportunity to work hand-in-hand to show our city and our county,” said Bublak, whose team consisted of Richards and Desa Basulto, the Turlock Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director.
Warrior Stadium offers plenty. It holds 2,100 seats and boasts a new timing system and a rarely used track, with the school using the stadium for men’s and women’s soccer games.
CBS will also be in attendance in May 2011, broadcasting segments of the events.
“It puts our brand new sports complex on a national scene,” President Shirvani said, adding that he hopes the event will lead to hosting other national championships, such as in soccer. “It will really showcase it. We want the visitors to have a welcoming experience so they can tell other people in their own community back home how great our university and city are. It will also have a very positive, strong impact on the city, and that’s very, very important. It’s the beginning of a time where the university is going to have a major recreational entertainment impact on the region.”
Diljeet Taylor, the cross country coach, will be the meet director.
“We’re going to do our best to put on a good show,” she said, while her track athletes continued training.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.
