The long-awaited groundbreaking of the new $13 million Mission Bay High School (MBHS) athletic facilities took place Feb. 12 on the football field with about 50 people in attendance, including a mix of MBHS students, athletes, alumni and other Pacific Beach locals.
The guest speakers on hand were MBHS principal Fred Hilgers; San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Deputy Superintendent Phil Stover; Pam Dietz, president of the MBHS Alumni Association; executive director of SDUSD’s Facilities Planning and Construction, Lee Dulgeroff; MBHS senior Devante Kinder, a member of the football team; and MBHS freshman Kylie Kroger, a member of the girls’ soccer team; and included recognition to Tim Penick of T.B. Penick and Sons, Inc.
Dulgeroff said the process to renovate the MBHS athletic facilities for him began in 2009 when he toured the football field with Hilgers and Mission Bay Cluster president Jennifer Tandy. “There have been many advocates over the years who have struggled to make sure Mission Bay High has safe, equitable sports facilities,” said Tandy. “We have walked the MBHS field so many times with SDUSD personnel, presented at Board of Education meetings, sent hundreds of emails and had dozens of district meetings. Finally, MBHS will get its long-awaited, much-deserved sports facility renovations.”
The renovations were supposed to begin a few years back with the passage of Propositon S funding but, according to Tandy and Dulgeroff, the project came to a halt when the bottom fell out of the real-estate market. But the project took on new life when voters passed Proposition Z in 2012.
The final go-ahead for the project took place when the California Coastal Commission officially approved the project on Jan. 10. The project includes a complete renovation of the football field and running track. Other features include:
• the existing football field and track replaced with new synthetic turf field and all-weather track;
• new handicap-accessible blea-chers (1,600-seat capacity on the home side, 800 seating capacity on the visiting side);
• a new press box with an elevator to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility;
• new athletic facilities (3,648 square feet, handicap-accessible ticket booth, restrooms and concession stand for home and visitors; storage area for athletic equipment);
• new football stadium lighting and sound system;
• new scoreboard and goal posts;
• new home and visitor entrance gates;
• the existing softball field relocated and reconstructed with new synthetic turf; and
• new ADA-accessible dugouts, bleachers, concession stand and announcer’s booth.
Due to the renovations, MBHS will join the ranks of “Friday Night Lights” to host football games at night for the first time in its 60-year history. Dietz also announced that for the first time since 1953, the Homecoming football game will be played under the lights. “The new stadium, track and softball field will be an asset not only to the school but to the community itself, “Tandy added.
The demolition of the old facilities will begin this month with renovations set to be completed by the spring of 2015.
