From the Princeton Weekly Bulletin, April 28, 1997
Weaver funds
track and field stadiumA gift from investment banker William Weaver '34 will be used to construct a state-of-the-art stadium for outdoor track and field sports, as part of the new complex that will replace Palmer Stadium. This part of the complex will be named the William M. Weaver '34 Track and Field Stadium.
Weaver is a limited partner, emeritus, in the firm of Alex. Brown and Sons. He was a varsity runner and jumper at Princeton and has been a long-time supporter of the University's track program.
"Bill Weaver has gone the distance to give our students the kind of out-standing setting where they can run their fastest and jump their highest," said President Harold Shapiro. "This stadium will be a wonderful legacy for Princeton athletics."
Spacious lanes, turning radius
In Palmer Stadium, Princeton's football and outdoor track programs shared the horseshoe-shaped arena. In Palmer's replacement, the track stadium will be in an adjoining field to the south.
When Weaver Stadium is completed, it will offer many advantages for both athletes and fans. At the center will be an innovative track designed by Don Paige, once the best half-miler in the world and now the foremost track and field consultant in the United States. The track will be eight lanes across, each lane 1.22 meters wide, and have a radius of 36.5 meters on the turns. It will be covered with a polyurethane surface formulated to optimize both cushioning (to protect against injuries) and rebound (to enhance performance). And in an era when records are measured in milliseconds and millimeters, the track will be free of the swirling winds that somtimes plagued athletes in the semienclosed space of Palmer. Overlooking the track will be a grandstand with a seating capacity of 2,500.
"Princeton's track program is so strong today and the young men and women who participate are so talented that I am delighted to be able to give them a stadium of their own," said Weaver. "The lessons I learned at Princeton about training and competition have served me well throughout my life, and this is one way I can thank the University for all it has given to me."
The new stadium will give Princeton's track and field programs a setting where they can continue their record-setting tradition. Princeton has the longest tradition of collegiate track and field competition in the United States, since the first meet was held at the University in 1873. During the Palmer Stadium years, nine world records were broken, and since 1980 the men's team has won 17 Ivy League titles in track and field, while the women's team has garnered 11 titles since its inception in 1979.
"Bill Weaver has been a truly great friend to Princeton track and field," said coach Fred Samara. "He understands that this world-class stadium will make a tremendous difference to all of us at Princeton, students and coaches alike." Samara is William M. Weaver Jr. Head Coach of Men's Track and Field/Cross Country, a position Weaver endowed in 1986.
Weaver, who lives in Smith Valley, Nev., and Easton, Conn., has been a staunch supporter of Princeton since his graduation in 1934. Before joining Alex. Brown as an investment banker in 1966, he headed several mining and metals manufacturing companies.
The gift for the Weaver Track and Field Stadium is among the leadership gifts to the Anniversary Campaign to Princeton, a five-year effort to raise $750 million. The campaign, which ends in the year 2000, has already raised some $375 million toward this goal. It was launched as part of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the University's charter in 1746.