Narrative“The Nike saga” (5/5). It is in the modernized stadium largely thanks to the dollars of Phil Knight, the co-founder of the company, that the world championships in athletics have been taking place since July 15. For the brand, this event sounds like a homecoming, in the city where it was born.
“Tracktown, USA”, proudly announces a mural off the Interstate-5 freeway, toward Eugene. “Capital of Athletics” (track and field, they say in the United States), never will the peaceful city of Oregon have deserved this nickname as much as in this summer of 2022 when it hosts the world championships. Most competitors are already familiar with the athletics stadium, Hayward Field, which they attend at the local meeting. Novices may take advantage of the event to make a detour to Pre’s Rock, a few hundred meters away: a simple rock protuberance on the side of the road where athletes from all over the world come to deposit a relic, basketball , bib or tank top; a place of worship where you gather in front of a plaque bearing the image of Steve Prefontaine, runner and brand ambassador in the early 1970s.
Before dying against this rock, one night in May 1975, the 24-year-old mustached young man had so well embodied the rise of jogging and the libertarian spirit of Nike’s early days that he had become its image, the icon. His tragedy made him the hero of a legend that the company continues to cultivate. Philip Knight, its co-founder, helped the Municipality of Eugene acquire the Pre’s Rock parcel of land, in exchange for its upkeep. A metal barrier was installed, much to the displeasure of purists who dreamed of a less protected site.
Phil Knight is the main financier of the large stadium operation, estimated at more than 270 million dollars
Nothing was ever easy between Phil Knight and his alma mater, the University of Oregon. In the early 1980s, he almost gasped when he learned that a trainer, his former friend, Bill Dellinger, was outfitting college athletes with Adidas shoes and outfits. Worse still, the man distils his expertise to the great German rival, a collaboration which will lead to a model of shoes named… Adidas Oregon. Later, when revelations about working conditions at Asian contractors spark student protests in Eugene, Phil Knight stiffens when he finds the college president so unsupportive. He even threatens to reduce his donations, before changing his mind.
A beautiful sports complex
Fortune made, the founding boss of Nike multiplies the generosity on the contrary. For the benefit of the candidates of the Republican Party of Oregon or the basketball club of his hometown – the Portland Trail Blazers – which he wants to acquire. But it is for Eugene and his university that he reserves the best part of the cake. On campus, the library has doubled in size and bears his name. The modernized law school was named in memory of his father and the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact was built thanks to 500 million dollars (495 million euros) donated by the Knight Foundation, in waiting for a second building for which the same sum will be transferred in 2021. Finally, on the edge of Franklin Boulevard, in Eugene, stands the imposing Matthew Knight Arena, a basketball hall rebuilt in memory of the late son of the brand’s founder.
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