ANAHEIM : 18 Stadium Beams Will Be Reinforced
The City Council on Tuesday approved a $497,000 contract with a construction firm to reinforce 18 steel beams at Anaheim Stadium to bring them up to 1994 seismic building codes.
City officials said the Northridge earthquake in January, which toppled the stadium’s 17-ton Sony Jumbotron scoreboard, dramatized the need to retrofit the beams.
“It’s a safety issue,” said City Manager James D. Ruth.
The contract was awarded to SME Industries, based in Roseville, Calif.
City officials said they want the work completed by the start of baseball season. The California Angels’ first preseason game at Anaheim Stadium is April 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ruth said the costs for the beam work will come out of the stadium’s budget reserves. The beams were installed in 1980 as part of a stadium renovation that lured the Rams to Anaheim.
Currently, the city is also working to repair the damaged Jumbotron. City officials hope to recover those expenses from either the contractors who installed the scoreboard or, as a last resort, from federal and state emergency relief aid.
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