By Emily Von Buttlar
Features Editor
Although the new Costa gym is not completed, the Costa girls basketball team was able to tour the new state-of-the-art athletic complex.
Contractors from Balfour Beatty, developers from Gensler, members of the School District Board of Trustees, Superintendent Mike Matthews and Manhattan Beach Councilman Steve Napolitano have been working together to design and construct this new building since 2018. The new athletic pavilion is set to open just in time for the school’s 70th anniversary. According to Principal Dr. Ben Dale, the school is hoping that the new sports complex will be open to all sports by March of 2021.
“For a long time, our school has enjoyed championship programs in less-than-championship facilities,” Dale said. “Now, our facilities match the quality of our teams.”
The $38 million new building will include a 20,000 square-foot-three-court gym, a Community Pavilion gym, a 1,500 square-foot athletic training space for sports medicine, 4,500 square-feet of strength and development space, a 60-person classroom, a film room and a terrace overlooking Waller Stadium. In addition, members from Balfour Beatty and Gensler are installing various cameras throughout the gym that will connect to monitors to allow people to watch the games from various rooms within the new athletic complex.
“The gym has competition surfaces for basketball, volleyball and wrestling.” Dale said. “There are additional rooms for yoga, dance, cheer, winter/color guard and tall flags. There are team rooms, classrooms, training facilities and weight rooms for all sports. The athletic director and the two team trainers will work with head coaches to schedule times for all the various spaces.”
In February 2019, Balfour Beatty’s construction team started the demolition of the old gym and planned to finish the project on Oct. 16, 2020. Unfortunately, the progress was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020. Principal architect Peter Barsuk and senior associate architect Steve Chang from Gensler oversaw the design process, while Beatty oversaw the construction aspect of the project. On July 29, the board also approved using part of the funds available to install solar panels over the main gym. According to Dale, people were excited about this new addition to the campus.
“The Measure EE bond passed in the fall of 2016,” Dale said. “The school and community understood that our old gym was long past its time.”
On Nov. 8, 2016, voters approved Measure EE, a $38 million bond that provided funding by raising local tax dollars to replace the outdated Fisher Gym at MCHS. Measure EE was also used in 2010-2015 to rebuild all of the classrooms. The remodeling of the athletic center was a part of the ‘Long Range Facilities Master Plan’ that was developed in 2015, which outlined MBUSD’s plan for its classrooms and buildings and the overall improvement of the schools.
“I think that having a new gym is important in order to strengthen Costa athletics,” senior and girls basketball player Courtney Lo said. “Having a place to ourselves that’s big enough for all sports to get equal gym time is really important. Having to practice at inconvenient times or getting no time in the weight room was always a problem, but now all teams can benefit from the new facilities.”
The girls basketball team got to take a look around the gym on Dec. 18. According to junior Hannah Gideon, they are currently not supposed to reveal any specifics about the design, but she was very excited about the overall complex. Unfortunately, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has recently declared that there will most likely not be a season, so they will most likely continue to practice outside at other MBUSD schools like Pennekamp Elementary School and Manhattan Beach Middle School.
“I really did enjoy all the different facilities available in the complex and that were going to be available during office hours and the times we could use them throughout the school day,” Gideon said. “I’m most excited to get in the new indoor basketball courts because, in my opinion, practice hasn’t been the same outside.”
According to Dale, there will be an all-day grand-opening event most likely on Aug. 29. There is also a plan to include a girls volleyball game and other various games for Costa alumni. According to rugby coach Duke Dulgarian, his players were looking forward to using the weight rooms by now.
“I think that the really neat thing is we’re actually going to have a meeting room that is dedicated to our [rugby] program, which is very generous of the school,” Dulgarian said. “I think the film study room is going to be really critical for us, and we will take advantage of that. And obviously, the weight room will be something special for us.”
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