Formal approval of the Athletics’ Project at South Pasadena High School was made by the South Pasadena Board of Education last Tuesday night.
It’s just another effort in updating local schools through a $98 million bond approved by local voters. The newest construction effort, scheduled to get underway in November, will provide a new look to the west side of campus at an institution that is now 113 years old.
“It will definitely take everything to a new level when it’s completed,” said South Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Geoff Yantz recently, noting that the experience for student-athletes and fans at the school will be vastly improved by the changes.
The superintendent said the total bid amount for construction is $11,028,992.00. Balfour Beatty, an industry leader in the United States, will serve as the contractor on the project, unanimously approved by the board.
Work on the SPHS athletic facilities project calls for improvements to the school’s two gymnasiums, and a redesign of the area on Diamond Avenue from the stadium south to the pool and baseball field. New outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, visitor bleachers, a new field house, featuring a training, film room and storage, are also in the plans.
The two gyms, explained Yantz, will be a key focus, the superintendent explaining most of the work will be done on the older, or what he calls the “main gym,” where the entire floor and bleachers will be replaced, new baskets and backboards installed, the lobby renovated, restrooms and outside ticket booth replaced. In addition, the locker rooms will be gutted, restored, and new team rooms will be built.
Floors of the newer gym on the north side will be sanded, refinished and restripped, and air conditioning units will be added. “Basically, everything else stays the same,” noted Yantz.
Once the project is complete, he said the athletic facility will “be more inviting, functional for our students, as well as the community.”
The school’s athletic facilities will be updated, “creating a higher quality and safer environment for student-athletes and a more welcoming and enjoyable space for parents and community,” said Yantz in a letter to parents in the district.
The project comes on the heels of the high school’s new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) building, which opened earlier this year.
Using funds from the bond measure approved by South Pasadena voters, construction continues at the South Pasadena Middle School old gymnasium where it is being repurposed into a black box theater, an art lab and STEM lab. Yantz said the project is slated for completion in time for the 2020-2021 school year.
During Tuesday’s board meeting, Yantz made it a point to thank the community for supporting the bond measure, “enabling us to go and improve our facilities, and provide them not only for our students but the community as well.”