COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced Monday morning the 2024 track and field state tournament will be held at Welcome Stadium in Dayton.
The track and field state tournament is scheduled for May 31 and June 1, 2024.
The track at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University will be removed in May and replaced with a new track that will take several months to complete.
Welcome Stadium hosted the OHSAA track and field state tournament from 1999-2003 after the track was removed from Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Dayton Public Schools recently completed a $34 million renovation project at Welcome Stadium that included a new track, football field, press box, concourse and locker rooms.
“We are very impressed with the renovations at Welcome Stadium,” said OHSAA executive director Doug Ute. “It’s great to see what Dayton Public Schools has done to the facility and they were very excited right away when we called. We are fortunate that the timing of these construction projects lined up so that Welcome Stadium was ready to host before Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium was unavailable.”
The track and field state tournament will return to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in 2025 and 2026 to complete the current three-year contract.
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium has hosted the state tournament since 2004, with the exceptions of 2020, when the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, when each division was held at a high school in central Ohio.
"We are excited and honored to be hosting the 2024 State Track Tournament at Welcome Stadium," said Dayton Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence. "The district and community have invested a lot into the stadium renovation project, and it is rewarding to now be hosting a state tournament as a result of those efforts. As a former participant in the state track meet and avid fan of track and field, it brings great joy to host the meet in our newly renovated and state-of-the-art facility."
The OHSAA said more information including event schedules and meet management details will be shared at a later date.
