Florida Set to Host 2009 SEC Championships
Monday, May 11, 2009 | Track and Field
The University of Florida will play host to the 2009 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 14-17 at Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressly Stadium.
All-session ticket passes for the event are available for $20 for adults and $10 for UF students, youth and senior citizens, while single-session tickets are available for $10 for adults and $5 for UF students, youth and senior citizens. To order tickets online, please log on to: http://www.gatorzone.com/trackfield/tour/sec/2009/ or call the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683. Gates open an hour before the first event each day.
“I'm very excited about hosting the SEC Championships,” UF head coach Mike Holloway said. “There's nothing like it. Anybody who wants to see the best in track and field in all aspects should come to the SEC Championship meet.”
The Gators also played host to the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1960, 1970, 1974, 1981, 1989 and 1998.
Since 1959, James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track has served as the outdoor home of the Gator track and field program. Recognized as one of the finest collegiate track and field facilities in the nation, the complex provides permanent grandstand seating for 4,500 in addition to increased bleacher seating for special events.
The facility is named after former Gator head coach Percy Beard (1937-63), a world record-holder and Olympian in the high hurdles and a member of the prestigious USA Track & Field Hall of Fame. The surface, originally installed in 1985, is patterned after the facility at the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. In 1993, the nine-lane Olympic-certified track underwent complete resurfacing and stripping as part of a $550,000 renovation effort. The efforts to keep the facility as one of the finest in the nation continued during the summer of 2006 when $675,000 was poured into a new Mondo surface, which included installing an additional 30 feet of track space in the southwest corner of the stadium,
The nine-lane track also features multiple jump runways, a steeplechase water jump, three circles for both the shot put and discus, three high jump approaches and nine pole vault boxes. The arrangement allows competitors to take advantage of ideal wind direction to create optimum performance opportunities, while the overall design of the complex provides the spectator with an excellent view of all events from the stadium grandstands.
During the spring and summer of 1995, the 2,500-seat permanent grandstand was expanded to accommodate an additional 2,000 seats. In addition to increasing the permanent capacity, the $750,000 project also included adding a new press box, restrooms and concessions, as well as a new patron entrance. A state-of-the-art scoreboard was added to the southeast corner of the stadium in March of
1996. With a 90 square-foot screen and matrix capabilities, the scoreboard allows the latest track and field results to be posted almost instantaneously
The University of Florida is home of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. For all of the latest information on Gator Track and Field, log on to www.GatorZone.com.
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