 
UC
Berkeley to dedicate renovated Goldman Field on Saturday at
invitational track meet
05
Apr 2000
By
José Rodríguez, Development Communications
BERKELEY
-- The world's first facility dedicated purely to track and
field will reopen this weekend after a $3.5-million renovation
funded in part by a lead gift from San Francisco philanthropist
Richard N. Goldman and his late wife, Rhoda Haas Goldman.
The
improved facility at the University of California, Berkeley,
will be named Goldman Field in honor of Mr. Goldman's father,
Richard Samuel Goldman. The elder Goldman competed for the California
Golden Bears under Walter M. Christie, the legendary Cal track
and field coach from 1900 to 1932.
The
field will be dedicated at a ceremony on Saturday, April 8,
at 12:30 p.m., during a break in the third annual Brutus Hamilton
Memorial Invitational track meet. Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl,
Cal Athletic Director John Kasser, Cal Track and Field and former
U.S. Olympic Head Coach Erv Hunt, and Richard Goldman will dedicate
the field.
The
renovation converts Edwards Stadium into a sorely-needed, multi-use
venue for track and field in the spring and men's and women's
soccer in the fall. The new field also will help to remedy the
shortage of grass playing fields on campus and give Cal the
opportunity to host post-season soccer events.
The
stadium, which opened in 1932 at a cost of $630,000, will retain
its 22,000 seats. But the improvements bring the facility to
a new level. Among the new features are:
Conversion
of the infield into a regulation-size soccer field with a state-of-the
art drainage system, suitable for international competition.
Reconfiguration
of the 400-meter oval with 85-meter straight-aways.
Installation
of a top polyurethane, all-weather track surface, faster and
more suitable for national and international competition.
Edwards
Stadium has had a long and storied tradition as the nation's
largest complex built exclusively for track and field. It has
been the site of 18 collegiate records, 16 American records,
and 11 world records - including the first 15-foot pole vault
by Cornelius Warmer dam in 1940 and Jim Ryun's famous 3:51.3
mile in 1966.
Yet,
the venerable and heavily-used landmark had deteriorated steadily
over the past two decades, so badly that the track no longer
conformed to current international standards.
The
lead gift of $1.5 million by the Goldmans gave the renovation
project momentum to raise all the funds needed, said Athletic
Director John Kasser. UC Berkeley alumni and friends contributed
the balance of the $3.5-million.
The
renovation adds another improved athletic facility to the UC
Berkeley campus. In fall 1999, the campus opened the Walter
A. Haas Jr. Pavilion, a renovation of Harmon Gym.
Saturday's
Brutus Hamilton Memorial Invitational will draw a wide field
of athletes from college teams across the country, as well as
members of the Taiwan Olympic team and Japan national team.
Former NCAA decathlon champion and UC Berkeley alumnus Chris
Huffins also is expected to compete in several events.
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