6
Mar, 2015
New Football Field and Track Moving Forward to Spring Completion
[Posted March 6, 2015] Excellent progress is being made on the installation of the new AstroTurf football field and eight-lane, all-weather track at Uni. This L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) project, being built by Ohno Construction, is expected to be completed in late May.
Pictured above: An aerial view of the Uni field and track project from December 2014. (Photo courtesy Ohno Construction)
When completed, several new elements will be added to the complex. One will be a new scoreboard to be mounted on the Westgate Avenue (west side), which will have 23-foot-long panels available for corporate or personal sponsorship. Would you like your name, or your company’s name (and message) on the Uni scoreboard? Let us know your interest at Connect@UHEF.org, and we can walk you through the proposal process. It’s not complicated, but – this is LAUSD – there is a process.
In addition, an announcer’s booth will be placed on the north side of the field, opposite the stands, allowing accurate statistics to be kept, as well as for public address and press use. This facility is being sponsored by alumnus Scott Kivel ‘67, who requested the facility be named for former Boys Vice Principal Warren L. Steinberg (1924-2004)
Many inquiries have come in concerning the post-renovation impact on the Uni baseball program, which for decades played from the southeast corner of the football field. That will not be possible in the future. In 2015, the baseball team will play most of its “home games” on the road, with an occasional game at Stoner Park and Venice High School.
In view of the LAUSD regulations for baseball and softball, it will be possible to place softball on the football field, as there is no requirement for a permanent outfield fence. Because baseball has this requirement, the plan is to move baseball to the upper field (previously known for many years as the Girl’s Field). This will create an excellent location for most purposes, but will create a very short porch in right field, similar (but on a smaller scale) to left field at Boston’s famed Fenway Park. The solution will be installation of Uni’s own “Blue Monster,” a tall fence which will require home runs to reach the wall above a painted line.
Yes, you can sponsor the Blue Monster, too. Just let us know if you’re interested.
Chris Hewett
HI Rich,
thanks for the response regarding the baseball field. I’m actually hearing something entirely different from Steve Zimmers office. They are saying that a baseball field cannot be built on the upper field at all. And in the mean time, while we wait for a field, there is no space for the boys to practice. Believe me, a team that cannot practice properly cannot play properly. At the very least the school should have been prepared with a plan for a decent practice area for the baseball teams. The area that they are currently practicing in is absurd.
Thanks
Chris Hewett
LARRY BOOTH
Although the new field is a football field as well as a new track, University High should be very proud of the fact that the greatest athlete in the school’s history was clearly Olympic champion Mel Patton. He was undefeated in both the 100 and 220 all through high school and through 4 years of college at USC. He won five individual NCAA titles and is in the Track and Field Hall of Fame. During his career he set seven world records. The new Tack should be named after Mel Patton.
elliott alper
HELLO:
THIS IS ELLIOTT ALPER AND IM NOT A GRADUATE OF UNI I HAD GRADUATED FROM FAIRFAX HIGH SCHOOL IN JUNE 1974
I UNDERSTAND THAT A NEW TRACK JUST OPENED UP AT UNI AND I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE IT A TRY ON A SATURDAY BY JOGGING AROUND THE TRACK A FEW TIMES. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THANK YOU, E.A.