The city of Eugene is expecting a surge of out-of-town visitors when it hosts the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 this July. Here’s what those driving or flying into town can expect:
Eugene has a domestic airport with flights as far east as Chicago and Dallas. Airport director Cathryn Stephens said the airport was already back to pre-pandemic levels of traffic, and she expected the World Athletics Championships would make things even busier.
The airport added three new airlines in the past year, including Southwest Airlines, which Stephens said increased the capacity for passengers to the airport by 50%.
Stephens said the airport also planned to offer new translation services for non-English speakers, which she said would continue after the event.
Portland International Airport isn’t anticipating any major spikes in travelers because of the event, said Port of Portland Spokesperson Kama Simonds. But she said the airport would likely provide buses and shuttles from Portland to Eugene for athletes and their equipment.
Six Eugene hotels have shuttles to and from the airport, including a handful downtown and the Valley River Inn, about three miles from the university campus. Stephens said the Lane Transit District, Eugene’s public transit service, would also provide a shuttle from the airport to downtown during the event.
The city has several rental car companies, but some of them sold part of their fleet during the pandemic and have not restored their stock, said Andy Vobora, a spokesperson for Travel Lane County. A nationwide rental car shortage has further tightened supply.
According to rental websites, cars are either sold out for the event or will be very expensive. Alamo and all four of the area’s Enterprise Rent-A-Car locations were sold out for the weekends bookending the event. Hertz cars were hovering around $200 a day for the weekend, and even Portland car rentals will be few and far between during the event.
“We suspect that rental cars will be at a premium here as they are in many destinations,” Vobora said.
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— Jayati Ramakrishnan