Push for New, Big Del Mar Grandstand Is Expected

State architect John Puisha said he will probably recommend that the Del Mar Race Track grandstand, declared structurally unsafe two years ago, be razed and replaced by a larger one capable of seating 18,000 and costing about $24 million.

Puisha said Wednesday that results of two private feasibility studies on renovation of the 50-year-old section of the grandstand and on construction of a new, larger one have been completed. Based on the studies, Puisha said, “I probably will recommend that a new grandstand be built.”

Puisha said the central section of the grandstand was built in the mid-1930s when earthquake, fire and safety codes were much more lax than today. Although the old grandstand does not pose a serious danger to race fans and other users, he said, “It does not meet present-day state safety standards and must be upgraded.”

He is expected to make his recommendation on the grandstand to a state Race Track Leasing Commission subcommittee meeting May 22 in Del Mar.

Although declining to discuss the specifics of the two studies, Puisha said that it appeared “functionally unacceptable” to attempt to renovate and expand the present grandstand by extending the structure at both ends.

Roger Vitaich, fairgrounds general manager, said that the current proposals for the grandstand include:

- An $18-million reconstruction and expansion that would include a double-tiered central section and multiple-tiered extensions at both the east and west ends.

- Razing the structure and building a more compact, multitiered facility.

“Understandably, we would prefer the new grandstand,” said Joe Harper, general manager of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, a private firm that operates the 42-day racing season at the track. “You can only put so many Band-Aids on before it becomes impossible to accomplish much more that way.”

Both Puisha and Vitaich agreed that the renovation/expansion project posed difficulties because the substandard section is in the center of the grandstand.

Double-decking the center portion and adding extensions at each end of the grandstand could increase the seating to 14,000 to 16,000, but some of the new seats would be at difficult angles or too far from the finish line to draw premium prices, Vitaich said.

The existing 9,500-seat grandstand already is too small, Harper said, explaining that “we sell out seating daily and could sell another 2,000 to 3,000 seats a day if we had them.” Vitaich said that the state master plan for the Del Mar Fairgrounds is being revised to show the need for a larger grandstand at the track.

A draft of the master plan states that “grandstands at comparable race tracks provide seating for about 16,000 spectators. Santa Anita seats 21,000. Churchill Downs seats 50,000.

“An obvious solution to 1) structural deficits and 2) the need for increased seating is to reconstruct the central portion of the grandstand as a double-tiered structure. The result would be a safe structure seating 14,000 spectators.”

Puisha said Wednesday that “to be successful, the (Del Mar) Thoroughbred Club will need an 18,000- to 20,000-seat facility in the future.” The state architect pointed out that the track’s backstretch facilities for horses and trainers have been upgraded recently “and now it’s about time that we did something for the patrons.”

He stressed that any reconstruction of the grandstand would not change the early California architectural features that give the race track its charm.

“It is extremely important that we do not turn it into a sterile, reinforced concrete block building,” Puisha said, citing the Bay Meadows (in San Mateo) race course modernization as “an example of ugly.”

James Libby, principal of the firm that conducted the feasibility study for renovation of the grandstand’s center section, said the building code violations are many but that none poses a “life-threatening” danger to people in the older portion of the stands.

“What we are generally more concerned about is a panic situation,” which could be caused by a fire or an earthquake, Libby said. “Wider aisles and additional easily accessible exits are the requirements.” In addition, the thick adobe walls do not meet present-day earthquake safety standards, accessibility for the handicapped must be added and fire safety systems upgraded, he said.

“I am sure that any architect, if given the choice and a free hand, would end up designing a different building,” Nibby said.