San Jose State announced in a news conference Thursday that it will be building a new Track & Field stadium at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, about two miles south of campus.
SJSU signed an exclusive contract with Santa Clara County in April to discuss the feasibility of building the Speed City Legacy Center and Track and Field Facility on a nine-acre piece of land located in the fairgrounds.
In front of the Olympic Black Power Statue, members from the university administration and athletics thanked those who helped gather $9 million in funds to develop the facility.
The announcement comes 54 years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos made the salute to racism and injustice against Black people in the U.S. at the Mexico City Olympics, which is depicted in the Olympic Black Power Statue.
California State assembly member Ash Kalra and Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County supervisor and mayoral candidate, helped the university get the funding it needed.
SJSU Interim President Steve Perez said the track will be open to the public just like the Bud Winter Field. The track, which was built in the late 1960s and named after legendary track and field coach Bud Winter, who produced 102 All-Americans and 27 Olympians, was also the facility where Smith and Carlos trained for the 1968 Olympics, according to an April 14, 2019 SJSU newscenter article.
“This facility will give us a chance to reconnect with our history as a university and allows for a chance to welcome our community to that history, to that legacy and to our shared future,” Perez said.
Bud Winter Field was the home base for SJSU’s Track & Field team and the public before it was abandoned in 2019 replaced by the four-story South Campus Garage, which is on Tenth Street at South Campus, in January 2021.
Perez said while the signing of the $9 million in funds is a vital first step, it’s not the last.
Kalra noted that more funding is required to secure the development, meaning discussions with other assembly members and county partners will be necessary in funding the project fully. An estimated $25 million will be needed to secure the project fully.
He said the facility is not just another spot for athletes to train in, but more importantly a place where the community can truly understand the importance behind two of the main reasons why track & field is so important to San Jose.
“It will be a place to continue to learn about the legacy of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the Olympic Project for Human Rights and share a full experience of fighting for social justice,” Kalra said.
Kalra said with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, he hopes people travel to California to understand the importance that San Jose has in sports.
“We want this to be one of the highlights as people come from around the world to remember the role that San Jose State University and this great state played in the social movements in the ’60s,” he said.
San Jose Councilmember Maya Esparza said that one of the main reasons why the assembly members came to the decision to place the facility at the fairgrounds was because of the neighborhood.
“That neighborhood has been under-invested for decades,” said Esparza. “It will serve as a place for our children to play in the grass and run on the track, where the kids can just be kids.”
Charles Ryan, SJSU Track & Field director, said he understands there is more to this facility than just a new place where his team can train.
Ryan said he wants his team to be thankful, but also be knowledgeable about the history that this facility represented, to the community that shares it.
“I know that my student-athletes are extremely excited about the possibilities of what this facility represents not only for our athletic home, but for a chance to be engaged in the community and work with the youth to teach them about our sport,” he said.
