New stadium building at Laguna Beach High to open in January

A new building featuring a snack bar, storage space and restrooms at Laguna Beach High School’s stadium is set to open in January.

A change order for an additional $51,000 of upgrades was approved during a Laguna Beach Unified School District board meeting last week, bringing the total project cost to just over $1.92 million. The project is financed through the district’s capital improvement fund.

Jeff Dixon, assistant superintendent of business services, said the bulk of the change order was for upgrades related to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In addition to the new building, the project includes ADA upgrades to the high school’s Artists Theater, where a vertical wheelchair lift will be replaced with a stairwell lift. Handrails will also be added to the stadium seating area.

“The accessibility upgrades were a priority at LBHS,” said Ryan Zajda, LBUSD’s director of facilities. “The theater project was focused on ensuring accessibility to all audiences.”

In order to minimize costs, the theater upgrades were included in the LBHS stadium project contractor agreements, Zajda said.

The new building was added to the district’s facilities master plan in 2014 and will provide “much-needed” equipment storage for the athletic programs, which have expanded in the last several years, school officials said. It will allow for removal of the temporary portable storage containers and restrooms currently being utilized.

At 2,322 square feet, the facility will also house lockers and office space for coaches. The new snack bar will offer guests food and drink concessions with a clear view of games taking place, as opposed to the current snack bar, where the view is obstructed by the bleachers it sits behind.

Project construction began over the summer and will be complete by the end of the year, with the building’s opening set for the start of 2019.

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