Like so many other facilities across the country, the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in the Upper Manhattan community of Washington Heights was impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Most of the 2020-21 season was cancelled and The Armory became one of the first mass vaccination sites in the New York City area. While the life-saving results of the multitude of people who received the COVID-19 vaccine at the expansive structure have yet to be quantified in a published study, there is no doubt the efficacy has been substantial.
Today, the building is getting back to hosting track & field events, as it has undergone impressive renovations in anticipation of the upcoming season, including the installation of the multi-layer Mondo Super X Performance Track of which the oval and infield is composed.
“With thousands and thousands of visits from our northern Manhattan communities and others from across the city, The Armory is the busiest indoor track in the world,” said Armory Foundation Co-President Jonathan Schindel. “Replacing the worn out infield with a brand new Mondo track will be enjoyed by all our young athletes, and the new center hung display will make track & field meets even more fun for spectators and athletes.”
The travel of the new track and all its material took roughly a month to arrive at Washington Heights––leaving Alba, Italy, arriving into the port of Montreal and then being shipped by truck into NYC. Once it arrived at The Armory, it took three weeks to install. The sparkling 200-meter track is expected to last five years and the infield eight years.
Among the anticipated meets are The Armory Metro Eagles Invitational on November 27, the season’s first youth meet, which includes high school competitors, and the PSAL Gobbler Classic on November 28.
The Millrose Games, the world’s most time honored indoor track & field event, will return in Jan. 29, having moved from Madison Square Garden to the Armory in 2012. The venerable meet, which was first staged in 1904, was held at the Garden from 1914 until 2011.