UCLA says Pauley Pavilion will be ready in fall

UCLA’s athletic teams will be able to use Pauley Pavilion when competition begins in the fall, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said Wednesday.

The floor of the historic arena, which was recently renovated, appeared clean and mostly dry less than 24 hours after a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard, sending water gushing onto the Westwood campus.

Examining the arena on Wednesday, university officials found no structural damage. UCLA will replace the court in the arena, and temporary flooring could be brought in until the rull replacement is made.

Earlier in the day, Rich Mylin, UCLA’s associate director of facilities and event operations, said that he had toured the area with insurance adjusters and that it was unclear when the arena might be usable again.

“We won’t have any final real say on damage and replacements until probably Friday, I would hope,” Mylin said.

Pauley Pavilion, which underwent a $136-million renovation that was completed in 2012, was flooded with water as deep as eight inches Tuesday. The floor has sustained water damage and appears warped in some areas.

“Dry and clean up -- that’s all right now,” Mylin said. “And as we do it, we assess as we go.”

The Wooden Center and the Ashe Center are closed. Tents are set up outside the Ashe Center as makeshift offices.

The track at Drake Stadium is dirty, but the field appears relatively clean. It’s open and there was a woman running on the stairs as crews continue to clean up.

There are approximately two dozen workers at Drake Stadium, using squeegees and blowers. There are also about two dozen workers at Pauley Pavilion, removing wet equipment, placing fans around the facility and peeling paint. Wooden Center is shut down, and there are emergency response trucks outside. There are about 10 workers removing carpet at the J.D. Morgan Center.

“This already looks a lot different than last night,” said Jeff Tritt, the associate engineer of IT Services. “Last night we were under water. Today it looks doable. I was just asking them [maintenance crews] if they’re going to be able to salvage the track, and they think they’re going to.”

“We have telecom rooms and data rooms inside Pauley, and most of our equipment is OK,” Tritt said, later adding, “A lot of our devices were in the basement or first floor, but we did fine. I can’t speak for the Pauley Pavilion basketball floor, because that’s still undecided.”