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The University of Utah Athletics
U of U to Dedicate McCarthey Family Track & Field
10/18/2010 12:00 AM | Track & Field
Oct. 18, 2010
McCarthey Family Track & Field Photo Gallery (from Oct. 13, 2010)
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah will officially dedicate the McCarthey Family Track & Field with a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 23. The event will begin at 11 a.m. at the new complex, which is located north of Ute Softball Field at 98 S. Wasatch Drive.
Honored at the proceedings will be philanthropists Tom, Phil, Sarah and Maureen McCarthey. Representing their late brother Shaun will be his widow Ning. The McCartheys, longtime Utah athletics supporters, provided a generous lead gift of $2 million. The University of Utah's Campus Recreation Services and Administrative Services departments funded the remaining $600,000 of the $2.6 million project.
Members of the public wishing to attend the ceremony should contact the Crimson Club at 801-585-UTES. Parking will be available in the north Huntsman Center lot.
"The McCarthey family has always been very generous throughout our community and the country, for that matter," said Utah Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Hill. "We are very excited that they were so charitable to our program and made this long-awaited track a reality. The addition of the McCarthey Family Track & Field comes at a great time for the University of Utah. It will not only serve our student-athletes, it will also benefit many other groups and individuals throughout the campus."
"We believe that students and people of all ages need to have a place to run and jump and play games," said Phil McCarthey.
Hill will emcee Saturday's ceremony, which will open with remarks from University President Michael Young, Phil McCarthey and Utah women's track and field/cross country coach Kyle Kepler. The McCartheys will then conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony to signify the official opening of the McCarthey Family Track & Field, after which members of the Utah track team will christen the new track with a sprint race.
Until the McCartheys stepped forward with their gift, the University of Utah had gone 28 years without an on-campus track and field. A track in old Rice Stadium was removed during an expansion of the stadium back in 1982 and the Utah track team has been training at off-campus sites ever since.
"The McCarthey Family Track & Field is monumental in so many ways," said Kepler. "As the new home for our track and field program, this facility will give our student-athletes a world-class training and competition venue. In addition to the competitive advantage it offers us, we will now have a more flexible practice schedule, which will enhance the academic opportunities for our student-athletes. The McCarthey Family Track & Field will also send a very clear message to prospective recruits about the vision of our program's future, which includes developing some of the best track and field student-athletes in the country. We will be forever thankful to the McCarthey family for its generous support of this facility and our program."
During designated times when it is not reserved for use by Utah athletics, campus recreation and club sports, the track will be open to the public.
The 400-meter track has nine 42-inch wide lanes with a Beynon Sports Surface--a surface also found on tracks at several other NCAA schools, among them Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina and Iowa. The interior of the track has a 75 x 125-yard AstroTurf field, along with areas for the throwing and jumping events.
The McCarthey Family Track & Field will be illuminated for night use by four banks of permanent lights. There will be lawn-style spectator seating on the berm along the east side.
The McCarthey Family Track & Field was designed by Losee Architects' Sports Division and the general contractor was Big D Construction.
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