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≡ WORLD ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
The World Athletics notice was brief and to the point:
“Following detailed discussions between World Athletics and the Local Organising Committee of the World Athletics Road Running Championships San Diego 25, it has been agreed that the World Athletics Road Running Championships will no longer be held in San Diego in September as planned.
“World Athletics is currently talking to other potential hosts and expects to announce another location shortly. We would like to thank the San Diego 25 team for their work over the last few months and hope we are able to find another opportunity to host a World Athletics event in San Diego in the future.”
The posting also included a comment from Tracy Sundlun, the head of the organizing effort:
“We really looked forward to welcoming the running world to San Diego this September but sadly it is not to be at this time. For now, all of us here on Team San Diego will do everything in our power to assist World Athletics in the seamless transition of the 2025 Championships to a new venue.”
Slated for 26-28 September, the event Web site has already been taken down.
This was about money.
Reporting by Ken Stone in the Times of San Diego noted:
“A source with knowledge of the matter who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record told Times of San Diego that ‘San Diego isn’t the problem. (It’s) more the model doesn’t work, same for the for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. These governing bodies – USATF, WA – want the host cities to cover all the expenses to the tune of millions of dollars and don’t want to help.’”
Paul Greer, head of the USATF San Diego-Imperial Association said that a $3 million title sponsor had been found, but that it was not enough.
Canadian Running Magazine reported that the 2025 World Road Running Championships will likely be moved back to November now, contingent on finding a new host.
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This is another blow for San Diego, which has lost multiple teams and events over decades. The NBA San Diego Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and the beloved NFL Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017.
In 2019, San Diego gave back the ANOC World Beach Games for lack of financing and it took place in Doha (QAT), where money was not an issue.
Now the World Road Running Championships has left, underscoring the challenges of U.S. hosting of large events which do not have government funding, either via direct subsidies or through tourism authority support.
In 2022, the World Games was held in Birmingham, Alabama and finished with a $15.6 million debt (on a $65 million budget) that was finally covered by some corporate help, but mostly by the City of Birmingham ($5 million), Jefferson County Commission ($4 million), the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau ($1 million) and finally, the state of Alabama ($5 million).
It’s not easy.
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