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≡ TRACK & FIELD’S FUTURE? ≡
With last week’s agreement of the creditors committee to a plan to pay them a average of 14-16% instead of 1.5% of what they are owed, it appears that the Grand Slam Track bankruptcy case will be settled in the coming weeks.
The result is that the entity will fade away for some time – maybe forever – as Winners Alliance pumps some more money into an effort to find investors again through the end of the year and try and put on one or more meets in 2027.
There were doubters about Grand Slam Track from the beginning, of course, and some objected to the use of the term “league” as the format had nothing to do with traditional teams. The public debut of the Grand Slam Track concept was at a Los Angeles event on 18 June 2024, with founder Michael Johnson, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Carl Lewis and more.
A little less than five months later, former sprinter and now coach Rae Edwards shared a fascinating series of posts on X, asking ChatGPT what to do about track & field in the United States.
Edwards knows something about this was he was a 10.00 (2010) and 20.17 (2009) man, placing third in the 2009 U.S. nationals at 100 m and was a member of U.S. teams at the 2007 and 2011 Pan American Games. He later transferred allegiance to Nigeria and won an African Championships 100 m bronze in 2014. He competed through 2016 and then came back for a couple of meets in 2019.
He’s a coach in Texas and has been active on social platforms and especially on YouTube with his RaesTakeTV series, tackling issues in track and beyond.
On 13 November 2024, he posted three times on X, reporting on his request to ChatGPT about the status of track & field in the U.S. Here’s what the bot came back with:
“Track and field is technically a professional sport, but it lacks the visibility, infrastructure, and commercial appeal that many other pro sports enjoy. Here are a few key reasons why it struggles to reach the level of mainstream professional recognition:
“1. Limited Revenue and Sponsorships:
“Unlike team sports such as football or basketball, track and field doesn’t generate as much revenue through ticket sales, TV rights, or merchandise. Consequently, it’s less attractive to major sponsors, which limits funding for athletes and events.
“2. Lack of a Consistent League Structure:
“While there are professional track meets and circuits like the Diamond League, the sport lacks a unified, year-round league similar to the NFL, NBA, or European soccer leagues. This fragmented approach makes it harder to build continuous fan engagement or loyalty.
“3. Inconsistent Exposure and Broadcasting:
“Track and field events, other than the Olympics or World Championships, rarely receive prime TV spots or major media coverage. This means that fans don’t get to follow athletes consistently throughout the year, leading to lower overall engagement.
“4. Athlete Visibility and Brand Building:
“Many track and field athletes aren’t household names, making it challenging to attract a broad fan base. Without strong individual brands and personalities, it’s difficult to create fan loyalty and ongoing excitement around the sport.
“5. Limited Team Dynamics:
“Team dynamics often attract fans in other sports, as fans can connect to a local or favorite team. Track and field is primarily an individual sport, which makes it harder to build the same type of fan allegiance.
“6. Olympic Focus:
“Track and field’s strong association with the Olympics means the public often views it as an ‘every-four-years’ sport, focusing primarily on the Olympics rather than year-round events.”
(Don’t look for the posts; Edwards was banned from X and the posts are not available. He shared them with TSX at our request.)
Edwards felt that the “Athlete Visibility and Brand Building” aspect was really important.
I would suggest that nos. 2 – “Lack of a Consistent League Structure” – and 5 – “Limited Team Dynamics” – are the main culprits.
With a four-meet program spread over less than three months, Grand Slam Track was hardly a weekly feature on the sport schedule. Moreover, it has no team structure at all.
Looking at other sports which created start-up leagues, Major League Soccer started in 1996, with 10 teams playing 32 games each from April through September. The WNBA started in 1997, with eight teams playing 28 games each from mid-June to the end of August. They have both grown significantly, albeit in fits and starts and both have attracted significant investment.
The Diamond League has shown good staying power in Europe, but modest success elsewhere; there is only one stop in the U.S., for the annual Prefontaine Classic. U.S. track is in a continuing period of on-field excellence, perhaps as good as in any period in history, but in a long, continuing malaise as a spectator sport.
Edwards’ idea was clever and the chatbot neatly summarized the status of the sport in the U.S.
Johnson said he had raised $30 million to form his “league.” He really raised about $12 million and went bust. But he might be right about the $30 million, to create a 6-8 team league and a weekly dual or triangular meet schedule over 12-14 weeks, culminating in a true team champion.
That might solve the puzzle posed by ChatGPT. Any takers?
Rich Perelman
Editor
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