By Nik Lampros
Bruin Sports senior staff
nlampros@media.ucla.edu
There’s plenty of noise throughout Sunset Village now. The honking of minivan horns. The wheeling of MicroFridges. The shuffling of freshmen as they try to figure out where they’re supposed to be living.
But the sounds of bulldozers and jackhammers? Those will have to wait a while longer.
The reason? The construction of a new aquatic sports complex on the site of the existing Sunset Canyon tennis and basketball courts, originally slated to begin this fall, will now likely not begin until some time in February, according to Associate Athletic Director Ken Weiner.
The new complex will be called the Spieker Aquatics Center and will house a 52-meter-by-25-meter pool and 10- and 5-meter diving towers. Additionally the new facility will include new locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and meeting rooms. The center will offer permanent seating for 800 and room for temporary seating for up to an additional 1,700.
And while ground-breaking on the new project has been postponed, Weiner insists that the rescheduling is simply a natural part of the construction process.
“There’s planning dates that you put in, and then as you go through the actual process, you get into the reality of construction and things change,” he said. “That’s where we are right now.”
Currently the Athletic Department is waiting on final drawings from their architect. After that, the university will accept bids from construction companies. While Weiner doesn’t anticipate any further delays in the process, he admitted that the construction is “not a done deal.”
“If there’s another stumbling block, or the bid doesn’t come in at a price we can work with, then that’s something we’ll have to deal with,” he said.
The project is estimated to cost approximately $10 million, and has been made possible in part due to a donation by lead donors Tod and Caroline Spieker, after whom the center will be named. Tod Spieker is a 1971 graduate of UCLA, and swam for the Bruins from 1968-1971, earning All-America honors in 1969. He is also the brother of Ned Spieker, after whom Berkeley’s own Spieker Aquatics Complex is named.
Once UCLA’s new facility is completed, it will host most of the Bruins’ Division I aquatic athletic events. Additionally, it could potentially host Master’s swim meets and enable the Bruins to host major tournaments such as water polo’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament or Junior Olympics events.
However, UCLA will not be completely abandoning its current aquatics facilities. While Sunset Canyon Recreation Center will be more geared toward recreation activities, it could also host events such as Masters swimming.
The Athletics Department has said it will likely continue to host some water polo games at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center.
“We believe that it’s an added value to do (water polo and football) all in one place,” Weiner said. “Sometimes, like a Cal or a Stanford weekend, to have both events there so the fans from both schools can go to both games is a big plus.”
There are currently plans in place to replace the recreational basketball and tennis court facilities that will be displaced by the Spieker Center, although it’s not entirely clear where they will be.
Some housing groups have also raised concerns about how the noise will affect adjacent dorms, concerns which still have yet to be addressed.
So for now, while the Spieker Center is not yet a done deal, many in the Athletic Department are excited by the possibility of finally moving into a new facility.
“I’m thrilled,” water polo coach Adam Krikorian said. “I can’t wait. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been here since ’92, and I’ve been associated with this program through my brother since ’85, and there was talk about it then. Now this is 22 years later and we’re on the brink of getting this thing done.”
Krikorian was cautious in his optimism however, and acknowledged that at least one major obstacle remains to be addressed.
“We’re still about 3 or 4 million dollars short,” he said. “I think they plan to go ahead with construction in February, but we need to get this deal done. We’re hoping some people out there kind of step up and support the great athletes and the great students that have been a part of all of our aquatics programs.”
PAULEY RENOVATIONS MOVING FORWARD: UCLA Athletics has selected the architectural firm HOK Sport to prepare preliminary designs and drawings for the expansion and renovation of Pauley Pavilion. The current goal is to have the renovation complete in time to rededicate the facility on Oct. 14, 2010, in honor of coach John Wooden’s 100th birthday.
Some improvements being considered for the new Pauley are retractable seating, new concession areas, expanded locker rooms, medical treatment facilities, media rooms and practice facilities.
HOK Sport, based out of Kansas City, Mo., has been involved in the construction of San Diego’s PETCO Park, San Francisco’s AT&T Park and many other sports arenas.