EUGENE – Project managers pulled back the curtain on the Hayward Field reconstruction project Wednesday, taking reporters on a hardhat tour of the University of Oregon track stadium.

Nike vice president/creative director Todd Van Horne and University Oregon track coach Robert Johnson took questions during a presentation and walkabout inside the stadium that lasted about an hour and a half.

Some takeaways:

• The two-deck stadium, the support beams for its translucent roof and its slender, nine-story office tower, are physically imposing and dominate adjacent buildings.

• UO track athletes will have virtually every need contained within the stadium. There are two covered running surfaces, a five-lane, weather-controlled, 140-meter straightaway underneath the stadium that tapers into a two-lane curve for mid-distance runners, and a three-lane training track for distance runners on the mezzanine level.

There will be a two-level jumps area that could accommodate a world-record pole vault, and a throws area.

There will be meeting rooms, treatment rooms, locker rooms, an athletes’ lounge, an amphitheater and even a barber shop.

Asked what he wanted in the new stadium that he didn’t get, Johnson said: “I think we got everything.”

• The stadium will have about 12,700 permanent seats, approximately 6,000 covered by the roof. The roof will cover the upper deck on the stadium’s west side. On the east side, the roof will extend to cover some seats in the lower deck.

“It’s an asymmetrical design,” Van Horne said. “There is more coverage in some areas than others. Because we have a concourse level, if you have seats down below and it starts to rain, you can come up to this concourse level, walk completely around the facility and still have sightlines to see what is going on.”

Van Horne said the top of the roof will be dense and provide shade on a sunny day. The roof’s density will lessen as it curves.

“You still have an open and airy structure and views out to the Coburg Hills,” he said. “But the upper area will get a portion of that shade.”

• There are no obstructed views. Spectator comfort in the permanent seats has been a priority.

“Every single seat has a 44-inch tread,” Van Horne said. “That’s a lot of legroom. They are 22 inches wide. They’re all cushioned. It’s a first-class, kind of Carnegie Hall experience for the fans.”

• Van Horne pleaded ignorance when asked for a ballpark estimate of the cost of the privately funded project.

“I actually don’t know that,” he said. “I think we can all thank (Nike co-founder) Phil and Penny Knight for their generosity.”

• The stadium is largely open on the north end, where there will be a pedestrian mall and plaza. That is where temporary seats will be added for bigger events, such as the 2020 U.S. Olympic trials and the 2021 World Outdoor Championships.

Van Horne said it would be possible to expand seating capacity to as many as 30,000 seats for the World Championships.

Asked how 17,000 seats could fit into the stadium’s north end, Van Horne said: “It does go high. It goes higher than the dorms through here.”

• The target date for completion of the 23-month project remains the 2020 Pac-12 championships, scheduled to be the reconstructed Hayward Field’s inaugural event on May 16-17.

“Cross your fingers for good weather,” Van Horne said. “That’s what we’re shooting for, and everybody is confident at this point.”

-- Ken Goe

kgoe@oregonian.com | @KenGoe

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