Track & field athlete agent Paul Doyle is "trying to launch an eight-team track and field league, complete with a draft of competitors," according to Alex Mills of the PORTLAND TRIBUNE. Portland is one of the "eight target cities" for the American Track League, along with Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Richmond, Sacramento and St. Louis. Mills notes the format "would be unique, to say the least -- and a radical approach for the track and field masses and the traditional way of doing business in the sport." Each city would "host a meet," and each meet would have a "limited number of events but also a live band, disc jockeys, dance teams and crowd interaction, with fans allowed on the infield, along the track and close to the action." Doyle "hopes to conduct" the draft in February, and is targeting an April-June season in '16. The season would "offer various levels of performance fees and prize money, while potentially filling a gap" between the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March and the U.S. Olympic Trials in July. However, "hurdles remain," as operational costs are estimated at about $1M per year. Travel expenses and logistics also "could be problematic" (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 5/14).
