Georgetown University wants to renovate and lease the track at nearby Ellington Field for the next five years, as the University no longer has an on-campus track. Ellington Field is at the intersection of 38th and R Streets in Burleith, a short distance from the Medical Center.
The lease is intended only for track team practices. The University track on Kehoe Field, which was regulation size at one-quarter mile, was removed this summer because it was causing leaks in Yates Field House.
Currently the Ellington Field and track are controlled but not used by the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, located at Reservoir Road and 35th Street. Several local schools and the local Police Boys and Girls Club use the field, which is also open to the public.
The University is prepared to fund the renovation and upkeep of the track, if the D.C. School Board accepts the proposal at its September meeting. The estimated cost of this project is $246,000, and the University plans to start soon if the bill is passed, said Linda Greenan, Associate Vice-President of External Relations.
The renovation will include a new polyurethane rubber surface, similar to that of the old track above Yates. Renovations are expected to take six weeks.
Tuesday evening at the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting, Greenan and Adam Brick, the senior assistant athletic director, presented the plans for renovating and leasing the field.
The ANC passed a resolution supporting the proposal by a vote of 7-1.
Greenan and Brick said that the University will coordinate with the current users of the track, which will remain open to the public when the track team is not practicing.
“We will post the hours that we intend to use the track, and other than that it will be open to the public,” Greenan said.
According to the proposal, the University will have rights to the track on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., and on Saturday for two hours which have not been determined, Greenan said. The track is only one-fifth of a mile and has only four lanes, and therefore Georgetown will not be hosting competitions on it.
Additionally, University coaches have agreed to host several clinics for D.C. youth at the track.
The field in the middle of the track will not be leased to Georgetown. It will continue to be utilized by the various schools and groups who currently use it, as well as the local residents. “We have no desire, or intention to use the field,” Brick said.
The University intends to build a new track on campus in the future, but no definitive plans have been made, said Greenan and Brick.
