Posted: October 19, 2004

Athletics: USA Indoor T&F Championships to return to Boston in 2005-2007

BOSTON - The world's oldest indoor track championship, the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships, will return to the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College for the next three years, USATF announced Tuesday.

The announcement was made at the Reggie Lewis Center by USATF CEO Craig Masback. Joining him were Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Reggie Lewis Center Director Keith McDermott and 2004 USA Indoor 800-meter and 1,500-meter champion Jen Toomey of Salem, Mass.

Coming on the heels of the successful 2003 and 2004 USA Indoor Championships at the facility, the 2005 edition of the Championships will be held February 25-27 at the Reggie Lewis Center and will be the grand finale of USA Track & Field's 2005 Visa Tour. The meet will return in 2006 and 2007, with Team USA's roster for the World Indoor Championships being selected at the 2006 meet.

"All of us at USA Track & Field are happy to return to Boston and the Reggie Lewis Center, which has served as an outstanding host the last two years for athletes and fans alike," said USATF CEO Craig Masback. "This city enjoys a rich history in our sport that few can match, with knowledgeable fans and a tremendous support structure from the city and the state. We thank Roxbury Community College, the city of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts for welcoming us once again."

"With back-to-back sellouts and enthusiastic participation from local volunteers, the USA Track & Field Indoor Championship has become one of the highlights of Massachusetts sports," said Governor Mitt Romney. "The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College is the ideal place to continue this tradition, and I congratulate USA Track & Field on a great choice."

"The City of Boston is proud to welcome our great Olympians and world-class track and field athletes for another three years," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement. "The USA Indoor Track & Field Championships is an important part of the incredibly rich scene that makes Boston so special to sports fans from this city, New England and around the country."

First held in New York in 1888, the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships are the concluding event of USA Track & Field's Visa Tour. More than 600 of the world's finest track & field athletes compete each year at the Championships.

Entering its seventh year, the Visa Tour provides America's best athletes the opportunity to compete in the United States and earn substantial prize money in front of a nationally televised audience. Live crowds at Visa Tour meets typically have increased every year since the inaugural 1999 season, with TV ratings rising as much as 25 percent in any given year for individual broadcasts.

The 4,000-spectator capacity Reggie Lewis Center has been the site of 16 American or world records since it was built in 1995. It has hosted an impressive list of competitions, including the adidas Boston Indoor Games, NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Championships, the National Scholastic Championships, USA Masters Indoor Championships, and hundreds of other high school and college track and field meets on its world-class, Mondo Super X banked 200m track.

"To have the championships return to the Reggie Lewis Center for another three years is a tribute to great working relationship that we have established with USATF the past two years, and the great performances that this world's famous facility has earned," said Reggie Lewis Center Director Keith McDermott.

Also on hand for Tuesday's announcement were Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) President and CEO Paul Guzzi, Massachusetts Sports and Entertainment Commission (MSEC) President Donald Stirling, and USA Track & Field New England (USATF-NE) Managing Director Steve Vaitones. Along with the Reggie Lewis Center, MSEC and USATF-NE serve as the local organizing committee for the Championships.

Tickets for the 2005 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships go on sale December 1 and are available by calling the Reggie Lewis Center at 617-541-2451 or by visiting www.bostontrackandfield.org. (The Web site will be live December 1.)

USA Indoor Track & Field Championships Quick Facts

What: 2005-2007 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

When: 2005 Championships held February 25-27, 2005

Where: Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College

Who: America's finest track and field athletes Hosted By: USA Track & Field, the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center, the Massachusetts Sports Commission and USATF New England

· World's oldest indoor track championships, first held in 1888

· More than 600 athletes, plus their support staff take part

· National television coverage !-- End of update of news here -->