Work begins on dedicated outdoor track and field facility at PSU
Pittsburg, KS. – An outdoor track and field facility for which construction has begun at Pittsburg State will improve safety, will match the standard of excellence achieved in recent years by athletes and coaches, and could play a role in the local economy.
Site work has begun east of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts in the grassy expanse along Ford Street between the center and the Crossland Technology Center. Done by Mammoth Sports Construction, it is anticipated to be completed by March 2026.
For decades, the Pitt State Outdoor Track & Field teams have used the track and field inside Carnie Smith Stadium. The track is six lanes (national competitions use nine) and is confined by the historic rock wall built in 1939; it cannot be expanded. The track surface is worn and has been patched numerous times, while the field sport locations present hazards.
Conversations began about a dedicated outdoor track and field facility in Spring 2022.
“This was probably the last outdoor season we could even practice at the stadium and not worry about significant safety concerns like injuries to athletes,” said Vice President of Athletics & Recreation Jim Johnson. “We’d done all the patch jobs we could do and were at a crossroads.”
The options: build a new facility outside of the stadium, or spend $2 million in repairs and disrupt football season, because new tracks can only be poured in the temperatures of September and October.
“Even then, we’d be left with only six lanes and not nine,” Johnson said.
Phase 1
The Kansas Board of Regents approved moving forward with the project, which is donor funded and will be comprised of phases.
The first phase, at $10 million, includes the track and field base, seating for 1,700 spectators, a storage building, a warm-up runway, and fencing. It will include removing runways and sandpits from the football field this summer, which will be helpful to the football program, Johnson said.
Pitt State is scheduled to host the MIAA Outdoor Track and Field meet and must confirm by November; Johnson anticipates having the first phase complete in time.
Challenges
Cross Country/Track & Field Director Kyle Rutledge, who in just a few years has become one of the most decorated coaches in NCAA Division II cross country and track and field, said the current facility has been challenging for many reasons.
“We’re limited to when we can practice and what we can practice,” Rutledge said. “With just six lanes we’re very cramped. We have to schedule athletes earlier in the day and later in the day, and it’s hard for them to schedule classes around that. The old track was getting pretty bad — it was worn down, and that presents foot problems, ankle problems, and knee problems. We had to be very mindful of injuries.”
The new facility, he said, will “help our athletes train properly and do the things they need to be doing at a high level. This will give them everything they need.”
Opportunities
The new facility also has the potential to be an economic driver, he said.
“What it could do for this town, the university, and the people who live here in terms of attracting major collegiate and high school competitions that bring in thousands of people, could be incredible,” he said.
“There’s a niche there for us to host consistently every year, and we’re really good at hosting athletics events,” Rutledge said. “We’re very fortunate to have staff, the support of the community, and the mindset to do that here. We just need the facility.”
Longtime and highly decorated coach Russ Jewett, who retired in 2021, said the new facility will “honor the outstanding tradition of the program, and aid in the attraction and retention of new athletes and coaches.”
“This facility, when all phases are completed, will be the very best in all of D2 and among the best at all collegiate levels,” Jewett said.
“There was a lot of history and countless great memories made on the current Prentice Gudgen track at Carnie Smith stadium, and that history and those memories will live forever,” he added. “I’m thrilled that new history and lifelong memories are going to be made at this new, modern facility that will best serve the Gorilla track and field program, the university, and the community for many years to come.”
Jewett, Rutledge, and Johnson said that the university and the community are fortunate to have such strong support from private donors.
“They’re helping to transform dreams into reality, and that impact will be felt for generations,” Johnson said.
Those who wish to support this project can do so by emailing Johnson at jjohnson@pittstate.edu or contacting the Pitt State Athletics Department at 620-235-4389.