Over 30 Pacific University track and field athletes will have the opportunity this Friday to kick-off their season in what might be the coolest venue in the history of indoor track.

The Boxers will compete at the House of Track, a new facility in Portland's trendy Pearl District. The actual 200-meter green banked track will be used in March at the USATF Indoor Championships and the IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Oregon Convention Center.

The Nike+ Run Club House of Track (official name) is located in a vacant warehouse at 2400 Northwest Front Avenue in Portland. In addition to housing the world's fastest indoor track, Nike has designed the venue to be completely unique.

"It almost has a club vibe to it, with black walls and neon," said Boxer head coach Matt Lydum. "Leave it to Nike to put together the world's coolest venue, in the Pearl District, in Portland. It's really a cool thing for our student-athletes to get the first opportunity to compete there."

The meet, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and conclude at 10 p.m., will feature other local colleges and post-collegiate athletes. Over the course of the next month, meets will be held at the House of Track every Friday and Saturday. World class athletes from across the country and around the world are expected to fly to Portland for an opportunity to post record times prior to the national and world championships.

Lydum's team will send a contingent of sprinters, jumpers and throwers. "It's an amazing opportunity for our team," Lydum added. "It's not often in any sport that you get to compete at a state of the art venue. This track is designed to be the fastest in the world, and you will see world records fall in the coming month at this facility."

After Friday's meet, the next event on the Pacific schedule is slated for February 5-6 in Pullman, Wash. at the WSU Cougar Indoor.