Hot Hangout : Up to 400 a Day Are Packing Thousand Oaks’ New Teen Center for Some Cool, Clean Fun

Last summer, the mall was the cool place to hang out in Thousand Oaks. Sure, some teen-agers liked to meet at the bowling alley for a few sodas. But The Oaks Mall was the place to be.

But not this summer--or at least that’s what Maggie Heidenthal, 12, and her friends say.

“We like to meet here now,” said Heidenthal, lounging on a couch at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center on Janss Road at California 23. “We just wasted money at the mall.”

Jennifer Wi, 12, added: “Besides, we could get bad habits at the mall, like smoking. We can’t do that here.”

Since the city-sponsored Teen Center opened eight months ago, 300 to 400 teen-agers frequent it each day--far surpassing city expectations.

Thousand Oaks paid $3 million to build the 13,000-square-foot facility, which includes basketball courts, pool tables, video games and a weight room. And city officials say the center has been worth it.

“We’re very pleased,” Mayor Alex Fiore said. “We feel that the teens have a place they can call their own.”

In the evenings, the center usually is packed. Youngsters lounge on bean bags and watch movies or MTV. Others play pool or Ping-Pong.

The Conejo Recreation and Park District, which runs the center for the city, sponsors dances twice a month, sometimes attracting 700 teens. A volleyball club, indoor soccer, jazzercise and beginning yoga are also available.

Although there is a fee for some of the classes, most of the activities are free.

Jay Dodwell, the teen service coordinator, said when he was in high school in the early 1980s there was little for teen-agers to do. Now the center fills the void.

“The kids have a place to have positive interaction,” Dodwell said. “It’s a necessity of life.”

Twelve-year-old Corinne Michel--visiting friends at the center--said, plainly: “We could be home vegetating and watching soap operas.”

The idea for the center was first brought up in 1981 by several students and park district officials, who formed a committee with city officials to discuss their plans.

“It took a lot of legwork” to get the facility started, said Joe Hinsberg. But after dozens of meetings, construction began in 1987.

The center is the only one of its kind in Ventura County. Thousand Oaks plans to build a similar facility for senior citizens. Until the seniors’ facility is completed, the city wants to sponsor activities for them at the Teen Center when the teen-agers are in school.

Dodwell said there have been a few incidents of vandalism at the center, but the problems have been minor.

Elizabeth (Gypsy) Strauss, 15, said she used to hang out at the bowling alley. Now she spends her free time playing pool at the Teen Center.

“I even won the tournament,” she said.

Jason Gaines and Kevin Perry, both 12, say they like to play basketball at the center. But “sometimes the big guys chase us off the court,” Gaines said.

Wi said she has one small complaint.

“Sometimes they turn the MTV down too low.”