The Old and the New : High-Tech Gyms Come to Those Willing to Wait

Friday is the day Aliso Niguel is supposed to have access to the bells and whistles in its high-tech gymnasium.

Friday will be another missed deadline.

When state-of-the-art is at stake, waiting is often the art of the game. University, whose refurbished gymnasium sets the current standard by which all other local gyms are measured, waited 13 years. That’s how long it was between state approval of the project and the time the building was ready for occupation.

Ever hear the term, “I’ll believe it when I see it”?

That’s an attitude the Wolverines at Aliso Niguel might adopt. The gym facility at the first-year school was supposed to be ready Jan. 1, in time for the basketball teams to play a couple of actual home games.

The new deadline? At least Feb. 14.

This is what the Wolverines will get to play on--and with.

* A computer/television system that will pipe the game onto monitors in an expansive ticket lobby and cafeteria area.

* A projection system that can replay highlights on the gym wall in 10-foot by 10-foot format.

* An auxiliary gymnasium that will also have bleachers and opens up into the school’s theater.

* Contoured bleacher seating, similar to Capistrano Valley’s.

“The great thing is it’s going to look like a college and will have an arena feel to it,” Athletic Director Kurt Westling said. “There’s nothing Mickey Mouse about it.”

But for sheer volume, you’ve got to love University’s setup. Trojan coaches drew up rough plans of what they wanted in the refurbished learning center, architects designed it within the financial parameters allowed by the school district, contractors knocked out one wall and this is the result:

* Seating on all four sides of the main basketball court that can accommodate 2,050 fans. The main court runs across three practice courts that can be separated by electronic curtains, which descend from the ceiling.

* An additional basketball room with a full court; in all, there are four basketball courts that can be used at once. And of course, there are volleyball layouts that go with them.

* Overlooking the length of the additional court is a weight room so large that it could accommodate a fifth court if it weren’t upstairs. When all the equipment is delivered, 96 students can get a complete workout in 45 minutes. At one end of the weight room, you can look out over the main basketball court.

* Directly below the weight room is the wrestling room, which will eventually include a team room with desks and video monitors.

At a recent wrestling meet, Athletic Director Mark Cunningham approached a visiting wrestler on the bench. He was drinking a beverage. Cunningham told him to take it outside, and then explained: “This facility’s too nice.”