Upgraded outdoor basketball courts include colored asphalt indicating boundaries and 3-point circles as well as modern baskets.
Student-athletes at South Pasadena High School might not yet have games to play, but they will enjoy glittering new facilities when the moment finally arrives.
The construction project of the facilities is in its final stages with final punch-list items still being completed. The plan included a remodel of the practice gymnasium, main gymnasium, locker rooms, varsity team rooms, restrooms, weight room and offices. In addition, new tennis courts, exterior basketball courts, batting cages, a “film” room, permanent visitor stadium bleachers and athletic training room were constructed.
The project also features new perimeter fencing, outdoor lighting and planters. In the two gymnasiums, work includes new HVAC and lighting, basketball goals and stanchions, bleachers, restrooms, locker rooms, team rooms and a ticket booth at the Diamond Avenue entrance.
New wood flooring has also been installed in the main gym. Signage and ornamental concrete augment an upgraded entryway to Roosevelt Field.
Referred to as “the crown jewel” of the project by SPHS athletic director Anthony Chan, the new field house includes a training facility that will provide modern, sanitary and effective space for student-athletes to be treated for injuries, receive rehabilitation and train for injury prevention. The space will be used by the district’s full-time athletic trainer. New weight-training equipment will be added to the facility, and storage space is plentiful.
“This provides a modern approach to athletics that models what our student-athletes can expect should they continue athletics at the next level,” Chan said.
The film room also has space for a classroom environment and features numerous digital screens and whiteboards.
Improvements to the athletic facilities will cost more than $13 million, part of a $98 million construction bond — Measure SP — that voters passed in November 2016 by a margin of 3-1.
While the facilities will remain closed to the public until the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health dictates otherwise, student-athletes began training and conditioning on the exterior facilities on Monday. Once it is deemed safe, the school district anticipates a formal opening ceremony to officially christen the new facilities.
