Posted: January 17, 2005

Athletics: Track CEO Says Millrose Games Were Never Seriously Threatened

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Backing up the claims made one week ago by meet organizers, Professional Sports & Entertainment, USA Track & Field chief executive officer Craig Masback said that the 98th Millrose Games would go on as scheduled and that there was adequate funding to both operate the meet and pay athletes, despite the fact that a title sponsor has not been signed.

"I have said consistently to those (reporters) who called that I was extremely confident that the Millrose Games would take place," Masback said in a conference call arranged with the weekly New York Track Writers luncheon. Masback said that he "is highly confident" there is enough money to put the meet on and that funds had been set aside in escrow to compensate athletes.

"[There is] more than adequate money to pay all athlete costs," said the top U.S. track executive. He also said that he had held a conference call earlier with athlete managers to assure them of the same. After last year's Millrose Games, agents groused that it took too long for their athletes to get paid both appearance fees and event prize money, all of which is kept secret.

Masback also confirmed that a title sponsor had not been found, but assured reporters that the operation of the meet did not hinge on signing one.

"Millrose does not have a title sponsor, no," he acknowledged. "It is not crucial to the meet taking place."

The Millrose Games is scheduled to be held for the 98th time on Friday, 04-Feb at New York's Madison Square Garden. It is the longest running sporting event continuously held at that arena, and Masback recognized that keeping the meet going was a priority for USATF and its newly announced Visa Championship Series of five high-profile indoor meets in the United States.

"I think it would have been a big blow," Masback said if the meet had not taken place. He explained that the sports business has its ups and downs like any other, but he said that he had kept close to the situation and had not been worried --as some reporters had been-- that the meet could be cancelled. "I was never seriously concerned that it would not take place," he emphasized.

Masback refused to divulge the exact financial arrangements the meet had made with USATF to act as escrow agent for the athlete funds, saying that he did not know the exact amount that was in escrow. He was, however, unwavering in his confidence about the financial health of the meet, at least this year.

When reporters raised the BALCO scandal, Masback said that he did not think that it had hurt sponsor or fan interest in the sport, pointing to a string of statistics about the solid popularity of track on television, consistently getting a 2.5 rating out of the seven NBC broadcasts shown last year. "That average rating compares very favorably to any major sports," he said.

Masback reasoned that the strong response U.S. track officials had made to the doping scandals last year had earned them credibility with fans saying that track had "tried harder than everyone else" to clean up their sport. He said that the problem couldn't just be "managed" away, but that fans, sponsors and the media wanted to see a strong anti-doping "committment."

"It was a strong slap in the face for the sport," said the former miler of the BALCO scandal. He acknowledged that drug use in all sports would never go away entirely because there would always be a sub-group of cheaters "that were still going to try to cheat."