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Board OKs Plans for Royal High Stadium

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Royal High School could see a new stadium as early as next fall. But some sports fans say stadium plans approved by the Simi Valley Unified school board Tuesday night were a far cry from the original plans.

The board had to cut out some amenities, such as a ticket booth and state-of-the-art running track, eliminated 850 seats and put out the project to new bidders after original cost estimates submitted by construction companies in August ran more than $3 million.

The board voted to give the new bid to Chartered Construction of Los Angeles, which agreed to build the stadium for $2.7 million. Chartered has built several school buildings, but this would be its first athletic stadium.

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But some members of the stadium design committee wanted the board to hold out for a better stadium.

“I hope that we don’t sacrifice quality for expedience,” said committee member Caesar Julian, who five years ago promised his then-sophomore daughter that she could play soccer in the new stadium.

“I want a stadium as much as anyone at this stage,” he said. “I just don’t think we should rush into it.”

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Earlier this year, district officials talked about constructing the area’s only high school stadium with artificial turf, but decided it was cost prohibitive at more than $1 million.

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