Since 1959, James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track has served as the outdoor home of the Gator track and field program. Recognized as one of the finest collegiate track and field facilities in the nation, the complex provides permanent grandstand seating for 4,000 in addition to increased bleacher seating for special events.
Named after former Gator head coach Percy Beard (1937-63), a world record-holder and Olympian in the high hurdles and a member of the prestigious USA Track & Field Hall of Fame, James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track is a 400-meter facility. The surface, originally installed in 1985, is patterned after the facility at the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. In 1993, the nine-lane Olympic-certified track under-went complete resurfacing and stripping as part of a $550,000 renovation effort. The efforts to keep the facility as one of the finest in the nation, continued during the summer of 2006, when $675,000 was poured into a new Mondo surface, which included installing an additional 30 feet of track space in the southwest corner of the stadium.
The nine-lane track also features multiple jump runways, a steeplechase water jump, three circles for both the shot put and discus, three high jump approaches and nine pole vault boxes. The arrangement allows competitors to take advantage of ideal wind direction to create optimum performance opportunities, while the overall design of the complex provides the spectator with an excellent view of all events from the stadium grandstands.
During the spring and summer of 1995, the 2,500-seat permanent grandstand was expanded to accommodate an additional 1,500 seats. In addition to increasing permanent capacity, the $750,000 project also included adding a new press box, restrooms and concessions, as well as a new patron entrance. Most recently, a state-of-the-art scoreboard was added to the southeast corner of the stadium in March of 1996. With a 90 square-foot screen and matrix capabilities, the new scoreboard allows the latest track and field results to be posted almost instantaneously. Plans also are underway to add an even more modern scoreboard in the future.
Adjacent to James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track is Florida's L. Gale Lemerand Athletic Center, a $5 million project that was completed during the summer of 1995. In addition to serving as the home of the Gator track and field team, this multi-story 43,000 square foot building also contains the locker room, coaches' offices, equipment storage, training and sports medicine facilities for most of the Gators' spring sports programs.
Because of the complex's ability to host national and international competitions, The Athletics Congress (TAC) awarded James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track the 1988 United States Junior Olympic Championships. After the unparalleled success of this event, TAC selected Percy Beard as the site of the USA Jr. Olympic Championships in 1994. The six-day event was enormously popular, as thousands of Gainesville track and field enthusiasts converged upon the University of Florida facility to cheer on more than 6,000 of the nation's finest athletes ages eight to 18.
Over the years, James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track has played host to numerous championship events, including the 2004 and 2007 NCAA East Regionals and Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in 1960, 1970, 1974, 1981, 1989, 1998 and 2009. During that time, multitudes of spectators have witnessed collegiate, American and world records fall. The signature event at Percy Beard Track is the annual Pepsi Florida Relays, which take place the first week of April each year.
In addition to the enormous fan support the facility has established at Florida, the superior quality of the complex and the ideal year-round weather conditions have made James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard a very popular training facility.
