The July 15-24 18th edition of the championships, postponed from
2021 due to COVID, are being held in the United States for the
first time, despite the country topping the medal table in 13 of
the last 15 events.
Speaking after the conclusion of World Athletics' Council
meeting on Thursday, Coe told a news conference: "We don't want
to come out of the world championships in Oregon without a very
defined footprint for our sport in that country.
"This is a very important market place for us, it's the largest
sports market in the world and we need to be there in higher
profile.
"The extended relationship with NBC is a huge start in that
direction and we need to make sure that these championships, as
important as they are to Oregon, are also absorbed on screens
and ideally by visiting fans from other parts of the United
Sates."
The governing body has long been frustrated by the apparent
apathy towards the sport in a country that wins so many world
and Olympic medals and where there sometimes seems to be more
interest in college cross-country races than elite performances
in stadiums around the world.
"We are very excited about it," said WA CEO Jon Ridgeon. "We
have great live slots every evening on NBC and the U.S. team
should perform spectacularly and I think that alone will really
help grow audiences and our fan base in America.
"We are also putting a lot of time into the show and the
presentation so that athletics puts its best foot forward in
terms of trying to grab the attention of the more generalist
sports fan.
"There will be a number of new elements that will hopefully
bring spectators in the stadium and those watching on TV closer
to the athletes and create some new moments of drama around the
competition.
"It's an intimate stadium, ticket sales have gone really well
and I think it's going to be a brilliant backdrop for the
championships."
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Toby Davis)
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