By Andy Walter

DOVER — Being an indoor track student-athlete has never been particularly easy.

Veteran Dover High coach Jim Solomon can tell you all kinds of stories about getting up 4:30 a.m., having the team van towed away in New York City or driving behind a snowplow in a storm.

“I’m sure the parents are concerned about (their child) getting on the bus and going three to four hours away and staying away for eight hours up in the city,” said Solomon. “It’s always a concern. I mean I’m looking at it as a parent. That could be difficult.

“Some of the kids don’t want to go and run for, let’s say, 20 seconds and then have to sit for six hours.”

At least some of those issues are because Delaware doesn’t have a facility that can host an indoor track & field meet.

But a non-profit group called Indoor Track Delaware has started an effort that it hopes will end with the state getting an arena that can not only be used for indoor track but other sports like wrestling, basketball and volleyball as well.

The DIAA indoor state championships haven’t been held in the state since 2013, after which the University of Delaware remodeled its Field House into an indoor practice facility for field sports. Since then, the meet has been held at the Prince Georges Sports & Learning Center in Landover, Md.

This past winter, the event was held outside at Dover High because of issues related to the pandemic.

While people in the sport have made do with the situation, organizers think the time is right to find a more permanent solution.
Indoor Track Delaware has already commissioned a feasibility study and has been promoting the idea of the facility this week.

Greg Wilson, one of the group’s co-founders, said there’s been talk about building a track facility in previous years. This time, though, he said organizers are really trying to take it one step at a time.

They believe they’ve also connected more with coaches and former competitors in the various sports which could benefit.

“Right now, it’s a step-by-step process,” said Wilson. “We’re trying to raise awareness. Our effort this spring will then turn toward developing the conceptual design drawings and the site analysis.

“We’re still in the gestation period of making that argument in the public sphere so ... people of goodwill will have a comfort level in looking at the multiple sports that can benefit from this. To complement that effort is the impact it can have on the economy.”

The group is open-minded about where the facility could be built. Organizers have talked to local officials in all three counties about potential sites and the benefits of having an arena in their area.

According to the group that did the study, Victus Advisers of Utah, over a 30-year period, a smaller version of the facility would generate $975 million in economic impact. A larger version would generate $1.4 billion.

Organizers envision the facility being used year-round. Events such as the Beast of the East wrestling tournament could be held there in December with multiple hardwood courts available for basketball and volleyball events.

“Everything has potential,” said Wilson. “But, the bottom line is, we want to turn to those local governments and stakeholders to say, ‘What makes the most sense for you for us to drill down further.’

“Everything is completely wide open. ... It’s a process.”

But organizers would also think that the facility could be used to host top-level track & field meets, not only at the high school level but collegiate-level events and higher, too. It would have seating for at least 3,500 spectators.

The six-lane, 200-meter track itself would have hydraulics for the banked turns needed to host elite events.

“The better the venue, the better the opportunities for our athletes,” said Solomon.

At the end of the day, the group hopes that a facility would help make being an indoor track & field athlete a much better experience. There would be no more long busrides and endless days away from home.

Victus also estimates that each school pays $12,317 per season in travel costs for indoor track.

“Like Greg said, it’s a step-by-step process,” said Solomon, who is a member of the Indoor Track Delaware board. “We just want to make sure it gets done.”