Athletic Complex Progressing On Schedule

By George Laase

On a gray, overcast day I rode over to the high school to see how the athletic field project was progressing. It looked quite different than the last time I came to take pictures, as you can see by my up-dated photos.

The foundation for the Snack Bar/Ticket Booth/Restrooms was being poured as we spoke, some of the trenches for drainage were being cut and the power and communication lines for coaches and the track timers were already laid.

Gary Nendadal, the supervisor of the project, said the snackbar/ticket booth/restrooms building would be “going vertical” as the brick masons would be putting the walls up early next week. He mentioned the snackbar/ticket booth/restroom area was moved in further from the street and would have landscaping and some palm trees added.

Trenching for the synthetic field's cooling system was being dug for the “water cannons” to cool and wash the field.

Some of the upcoming work will be pouring the visitors-side bathrooms and cutting the trenches for the underground drainage system for the football field. The water, after being filtered by the field, would ultimately drain into La Ballona Creek, as it does now.

He mentioned that there are filters in the design to address the public’s concern about the rubberized nodules getting into the creek.

Balfour-Beatty has already leveled the outer practice fields and planted grass seed and topped it. The next step would be to test the district’s watering system to adjust and replace sprinkler heads as necessary. Later, the baseball outfield would also be reseed.

Nenadal praised the sub-contractors brought in to do the actual work and said the project, so far, is on schedule.