Carson Gets 2006 Track World Cup

The 2006 World Cup of track and field will be held at the Home Depot National Training Center in Carson, the first time the prestigious event will be held in the U.S.

Lamine Diack, president of the International Assn. of Athletics Federations, will announce today in Madrid--site of this year’s World Cup--that the complex at Cal State Dominguez Hills will play host to the four-day event over the Labor Day weekend of 2006. The World Cup, a team-scoring competition, is held every four years.

“It’s a great concept, and sort of a shame it’s never been held in the U.S. before because our team is so strong,” said Bill Peterson, senior vice president of events for Anschutz Entertainment Group, developer and operator of the $130-million complex.

“It’s a great fit with what we’re trying to do with track and field in L.A. and at the Home Depot Training Center.”

The World Cup will be the first major IAAF event in the U.S. since the 1991 World Cross-Country Championships in Boston. More than 500 athletes are expected to compete, and the event will be broadcast to more than 100 countries. The track and field stadium was planned to seat 10,000, with the potential to expand to 20,000.

The complex is scheduled to open next June. Soon after, it will be the site of a meet on USA Track and Field’s Golden Spike tour. Olympic pole vault gold medalist Stacy Dragila has committed to that event, as have Sydney Olympic gold medalists Marion Jones and Maurice Greene.

Peterson hopes to lure Tim Montgomery, who set a world record of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters Saturday.

AEG’s plans include bringing the 2005 U.S. track and field championships to the complex.

“I think we have a good shot at that,” Peterson said Wednesday from Madrid. “We’re also looking at other things on the grass roots level.”

Montgomery won’t run the 100 today at Madrid because his legs are too sore from last weekend. However, he might run a relay leg if needed.