Can this be happening in Nike’s hometown?

Have crews at Hayward Field really covered up Nike swooshes and pinned adidas posters to the fence alongside the track?

The short answer is yes.

Move over Nike. Adidas, the German multinational that has outfitted such legends as Jesse Owens, is the official sponsor of the International Association of Athletics Federations World Junior Track & Field Championships, which opened Tuesday and will run through Sunday.

“Adidas is a global partner of the IAAF through 2019, which includes billboards and outfitting officials, among other rights,” adidas spokeswoman Caitlin Albaugh said.

As part of that sponsorship, adidas receives a “clean venue” at Hayward Field, free of its rivals’ logos, although the agreement does stop short of throwing a paper bag over the statue of Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman.

“It’s a normal branding policy that you see at all major events,” said Vin Lananna, former University of Oregon coach, who is now president of TrackTown USA, the local organizing committee. “All of the official IAAF partners have certain categories and rights, and adidas happens to be one of them. Providing a clean venue is a standard policy for major sports events.”

Athletic clothing and shoe companies spend large sums to partner with sporting events, where their brands are seen not just by fans in the stadium, but by a broader television audience.

“This is a branding effort on adidas’ part to sponsor this event, and I don’t think they want to share that with any other brand,” said Matt Powell, a footwear industry analyst.

As lead sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene in 2008 and 2012, the swoosh reigned supreme at Hayward Field, and Nike’s rivals weren’t even allowed in the gates of the Fan Festival area set up near the track.

When asked how Nike co-founder and major UO benefactor Phil Knight must be feeling about the current turn of events, Powell said, “This is the birthplace of Nike, right? I’m sure it does stick in his throat.”

Nike and adidas “compete in the business world and on the field every day,” he said. “You can count on them keeping score of who wins.”

They’re just coming off the marketing battle waged at World Cup soccer, Powell said.

“Adidas was the official sponsor, yet 40 percent of people polled thought Nike was official sponsor,” he said. “If you’re adidas, that doesn’t go down well.”

In the United States, Nike and Jordan, its sub-brand, control roughly 60 percent of the retail market for sports footwear; adidas has 6.4 percent of that market, Powell said.

He said he hasn’t seen a breakdown of market share worldwide.

“My estimate is there’s relative parity internationally,” Powell said. “They’re much closer together than they are in the U.S.”

Although adidas’ partnership with IAAF whisks the Nike logo off the video board and other fixtures at Hayward Field, it doesn’t control what the athletes wear on the field.

Teams have various contracts with sponsors and so do individual athletes, Powell said.

So “you might see an athlete with one logo on their uniform if they’re competing with a team and a different logo on their shoe.”

Follow Sherri on Twitter @sburimcdonald . Email sherri@registerguard.com .