Santa Ana : College Devising Plan for Temporary Stadium

After meeting with city officials last week, Rancho Santiago College officials hope to submit a proposal for a temporary football stadium at the Bristol Street campus to the board of trustees at its Jan. 14 meeting.

Don McCain, dean of students, activities and community services, said college officials met last Thursday with Allen Doby, the city’s director of cultural, recreational and community services. The college’s trustees postponed a decision on whether to approve the temporary facility at a recent meeting, instructing the staff to obtain more information from the city first.

Santa Ana hopes to set up the temporary field for use by local high school and college teams while a proposed $11-million stadium is beig built at Centennial Park. The park project is part of a preliminary plan to raze the downtown Santa Ana Stadium to make way for the proposed Westdome sports arena.

The city’s initial proposal for the college stadium, submitted by City Manager Robert C. Bobb, included a request that the city use and operate the facility, that lights be transferred from the downtown stadium and that temporary bleachers be installed to handle crowds of about 5,000 people.

“I would think that it should benefit the college,” McCain said. “We’ll have to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the proposal.” He said Thursday night that high school football games, which will conflict with classes held at that time, pose potential problems in terms of available parking.