Huntsville to host USA Track & Field Masters Outdoor Championships in 2025
HUNTSVILLE – “We want Huntsville to be a track town.” That was poignant statement from Carlos Mathews, Huntsville City Schools board president after the announcement Huntsville will host the USA Track & Field Masters Outdoor Championships July 17-20 in 2025.
“The four-day event will see a variety of track and field events contested each day, with a number of different age groups battling for top honors in the country in an effort to improve their world rankings,” said Robert Thomas, Chairman of the USA Track & Field Masters Committee.
The event is expected to deliver a significant economic impact to the Huntsville area bringing in more than 800 competitors for the competition projected to generate a $1.3-million economic impact. Several different age groups will battle for top honors in the country in an effort to qualify for the World Championships.
Mathews, 51, knows all too well about the competition as he is a three-time national champion winning titles in both the long jump and triple jump in past events. Besides being on the group of committees overseeing the event in 2025, Mathews will also attempt to compete in the action. “Yes, I’ll compete. I can’t let this event come to my house and not compete,” added Mathews, who was one of the designers of the newest renovations to Milton Frank Stadium.
“We resurfaced the running track two years ago and we’ve added dual pits for the long and triple jumps that are college length, a steeplechase course, which includes a water jump pit on the North end of the stadium, and currently adding a huge area on the North end to accommodate the throwing events,” said Mathews. “We also striped the track to accommodate hurdle events of any caliber.”
The 2025 event was originally scheduled to be held in California, but issues ensued, and event organizers pulled out. With recent and on-going renovations at Milton Frank Stadium making the athletic facility a perfect fit for such a national event, Mathews asked the City of Huntsville to place a bid for the four-day extravaganza.
“This has been a whirlwind to bring this event to Huntsville and I’m proud on how our sports tourism team came together so fast to make this event a reality,” said Joel Lamp, sports development manager for the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Mark Russell, executive director of the Huntsville Sports Commission, said, “As a city that is known for running, it is exciting to bring this prestigious event to Huntsville. Now we are able to build upon the culture with major track and field meets and for our first to be a national championship is a very special opportunity.”
Milton Frank Stadium has been home to an array of events in its history including professional football, nationally televised college soccer and even host site for rock concerts and school graduations. Now, the facility, located in Brahan Spring Park in Southwest Huntsville, will hold a sanctioned National Championship.
“A lot of dollars for our schools will come from this scheduled event as with the renovations, we have turned Milton Frank Stadium from what many consider a ‘dead asset’ after football season to a ‘year-round asset’ and revenue-generating facility for the school system and the community,” said Mathews.
