New Track Shines on Randall’s Island

The city’s newest stadium will be opening this weekend, but unlike other stadiums involved in New York’s 2012 Olympic bid, this one is refreshingly free of controversy.Icahn Stadium at Randall’s Island is one of the country’s finest track and field facilities, and the only one in the nation to be accredited by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, which has designated it a first-class facility.The state-of-the-art stadium, long awaited by New York’s runners, will be used as an Olympic training track if New York wins the 2012 Summer Games. It is also being considered as the host for the 2008 Olympic track and field trials.The new facility was built in the footprint of the former Downing Stadium, where the famed black track star Jesse Owens qualified for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Downing Stadium was demolished in 2002.The opening ceremony for Icahn Stadium will be held this Saturday and will include a tribute to Owens, featuring a re-enactment of his 100-meter dash by Athens Olympic gold medalist and Brooklyn native Justin Gatlin. There will also be a dedication of the Jesse Owens Track & Field Club by his daughter, Marlene Owens Rankin.The stadium, which features a 400-meter Mondo surface running track, can accommodate up to 10,000 spectators.The nicest part about the facility, said stadium spokeswoman Katie Daniels, is that it will be used by everyone, from elementary school children to adult amateur athletes to Olympians. More than 125,000 athletes from 400 schools and 100 colleges are expected to compete at the track in its first year. This year’s schedule is already full, with 50 planned meets.The $42 million facility is the result of public and private donations, capped by a $10 million donation from billionaire financier Carl Icahn.According to the executive director of the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation, Aimee Boden, Mr. Icahn, a Queens native, was drawn to the project by his recent interest in supporting programs involving kids and sports. “It caught his eye because it’s going to be a top-quality thing,” she said.“The completion of Icahn Stadium will result in a world-class track and field facility,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “It will allow the city to resume its former role as a producer of track and field stars.”When the track isn’t used for competitions, it will be incorporated into the Randall’s Island Kids children’s program, which provides physical activity for more than 10,000 youths in East Harlem and the South Bronx.Last weekend’s USA Men’s and Women’s 8K Championships and the Randall’s Island 5K were the first races held at the stadium.“The professionals loved the track,” said a spokesman for the New York Road Runners Club, Richard Finn. “They said it felt good under their feet.”Mr. Finn said that the New York Road Runners are exploring bringing back top-flight competitions to the city now that the new facility has been completed. “This is something we have needed in the New York metropolitan area for quite some time,” he said.

New Track Shines on Randall’s Island

New Track Shines on Randall’s Island

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