The Ott Center is set to feature a banked track, long and high jump pits, a throwing area, and roughly 1000 spectator seats (Photo courtesy of Noah Gutskey).
After over two years of construction, Penn's new indoor track and field facility, the Ott Center, is set to officially open its doors on Nov. 16.
The center's grand opening event will take place from 5 p.m.-7 p.m., with Penn alumni and friends of the track and field and cross country programs invited to attend in exchange for a donation. Penn Track and Field and Cross Country Director and Frank Dolson Director of Penn Relays Steve Dolan envisioned the center as a major step forward for the program, emphasizing its capabilities as a hub for both practice and competition.
“It’s a new home for Penn track and field,” Dolan said. “We have between 110 and 120 athletes that do men’s or women’s track and field. That’s going to be amazing from a training standpoint — a place to compete and a home base for our team.”
The Ott Center was initially announced in October 2019, but experienced a number of construction delays before breaking ground in 2022. Its 73,000-square-foot surface encompasses a banked track, pits for long and high jump, a throwing area, and 990 spectator seats, with the final cost reaching $69.3 million.
The facility is set to be the only one of its kind in the greater Philadelphia region, giving Penn the ability to host large-scale indoor meets, including the Indoor Ivy League Heptagonal Championships.
“It would be lovely not to have to travel pretty much every weekend in order to be able to compete, so our teams would be excited to have four additional weekends competing in our backyard on our venue,” Athletic Director Alanna Shanahan said of the center in 2022. “An indoor track will allow us the opportunity to host an Ivy League indoor track championship in the winter track season, so [we’re] excited for that as well.”
The Ott Center, which Dolan said will become "part of Penn's skyline," will be located at 2910 South St., bordered on the west by the SEPTA and Amtrak trains, on the north by the Hollenback Center, on the east by the Schuylkill Expressway, and on the south by the recently renovated Rhodes Field. It will also provide support to the Penn Relays, offering an additional venue for certain events in the nation's oldest and largest track and field event.
“There’s no larger and more exciting meet than Penn Relays, and when you add the Ott Center, that is very exciting,” Dolan said. “Penn and the City of Philadelphia are doing great things for the track and field world. It’s super exciting, and I think it’ll be great for our campus community and for the sport.”
The center is named in honor of Jane and David Ott, who met during their time on the Penn track and field team and graduated in 1987 and 1985, respectively.
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