Work on fields, gyms continues

Whether it’s missed estimated completion dates or changes to plans, there has been some grumbling among those impacted. Aragon athletic director Steve Sell said he was a little disappointed when a mistake was caught late, which delayed the opening of the baseball field and prevented any chance of the class of 2024 to play even a scrimmage on the new field. Construction began in the summer of 2023 and was estimated to be completed some time during the 2024 baseball season.

When that didn’t materialize, Sell said an exhibition game was scheduled in July to christen the field, but the late repair forced the cancelation of that event.

“I didn’t expect it be done by the beginning of the baseball season, but nobody predicted August,” Sell said. He said because of the mandatory CIF-imposed dead period for the next two weeks, the Aragon baseball team could be together and those seniors that graduated have moved on to college.

“We wanted this year’s seniors to be the first ones to play on the field. This was the group that had a shortened freshman (because of COVID) and couldn’t play any home games this year,” Sell said.

At San Mateo, the construction appears to have gone much smoother. The school’s tennis courts were relocated to accommodate the new gym and were ready to go in the fall of 2023, while both the baseball and softball facilities were upgraded and available for play this past spring.

And the new gym is coming along quite nicely and appears to be on track for a February or March 2025 opening, athletic director Jeff Scheller said of construction that also began last summer.

“We were told (of a completion date of) spring 2025. But when I hear that, I think May,” Scheller said. “So to hear February or March, that’s pretty fast.”

Like Sell, Scheller was a little perturbed by some last-minute changes, but both men agree that any short-term disappointment is offset by the immense benefits these facilities will have for the schools’ athletic programs.

The baseball field at Aragon was raised between 4 and 10 feet and artificial turf was installed in both the infield and outfield. Concrete infrastructure to support spectator bleachers behind the dugout were included, allowing fans to get closer to the action. They also won’t have to break their necks walking a steep hill as pedestrian access has been included.

Lights were also installed, allowing for longer field use time during the winter when days are the shortest.

“It looks great,” Sell said. “It’s going to be a great space. It’s going to relieve a lot of congestion down on the main (stadium) field. … It will make those transitions (between seasons) … more manageable.”

San Mateo also needed an increase in facility space because the school and district have a unique deal that gives city use of the gyms and fields at certain times of the day and year.

The new gym will not only provide more space for the school’s indoor sports like basketball and volleyball, it will also increase locker room capacity for the school’s teams.

“It’s going to be a beautiful building,” Scheller said of the rising gym. “One that we desperately need.”

Burlingame, however, appears to be well behind a proposed finish date of December 2024 for a completely new, 37,500-square-foot, two-story complex at a cost of $41 million. But only in the last several months has the skeleton of the facility been erected.

The demolition of the previous gym was done last summer, but then minimal work appeared to get done over the next several months.

With the work being done at these schools, it leaves just the Hillsdale baseball field as the last one that needs to be renovated in the SMUHSD. In other construction news, Serra recently began the renovation of its baseball field.