American Track League to stage four pro televised indoor meets in Arkansas...

The Randal Tyson Track Center
(University of Arkansas photo)

ATLANTA--The American Track League announced that it will stage a series of four televised professional indoor track & field meets on consecutive Sundays starting January 24th at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

Each of the American Track League meets, organized by Doyle Sports Management and hosted by Arkansas, will have a two-hour broadcast window on ESPN/ESPN2 to showcase the performances on the “Fastest Track in the World”.

Normally, the American Track League indoor meets would have been held in four different locations, but due to the current coronavirus pandemic, plans centered on one location for all four meets. The meets will follow strict COVID-19 protocols, and will have no fans in attendance. So, the Randal Tyson Track Center made for an ideal venue.

The four ATL meets are part of World Athletics' Silver Tour that includes eleven international meets, with Fayetteville the only US location. There are six meets on the World Athletics Gold Tour, including one U.S. location with the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix held in Boston on February 13.

One innovation of the meet designed to enhance fan involvement is a "knockout event". In each of the four meets (either the 60 dash or 60 hurdles), the designated event will have a first round of four heats, with each heat consisting of two runners, with only the winner advancing to the next round. The semis will consist of another head to head matchup. However, one of the eliminated runners in the semi can get added to the final through a fan vote on Twitter at @AmericanTrack after the last semifinal.

There will be a modified advancement system in place that the promoters will announce the week of each meet in the field events based on entries.

The ATL release is available here.

NOTE: The American Track League, Doyle Sports Management, and the sports information office of the University of Arkansas contributed to this report.

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