How big should Corona del Mar High sports complex be? Bigger, trustees decide

With the understanding that future environmental impact reports might change their minds, Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees unanimously voted Tuesday to proceed with plans for a new sports complex for Corona del Mar High School, including privately funded extras like lights, additional seats and a press box.

The meeting included an hour of public comments. More than half the speakers opposed the expanded project because of concerns about noise, safety, traffic and parking.

“We want peace and quiet,” said Arnie Blakely, who lives near the school. “A stadium is where you make noise and yell and scream.”

The board last year had approved $7.4 million in funding from a one-time windfall for the new field and 1,000 new seats. But the project stalled when residents expressed concerns about congestion, noise and more near the Eastbluff campus.

At the board’s Nov. 19 meeting, trustees directed staff to return with a concrete plan, including specific features that might be added and paid for with private funds.

Those special features were outlined in a letter the CdM Foundation sent Friday to the board. The group proposed features including 1,385 seats; a press box and possibly an elevator; a field building for concessions, team rooms, storage, restrooms and ticketing; lighting and a sound system. Those items would cost about $6.75 million.

Many neighbors told the board they didn’t object to upgrading the field to make it safe for student-athletes, but the extras would substantially decrease their quality of life.

“Give them the fields they need,” said neighbor David Arnold. “The lights and the sound system, I will fight.”

Supporters said the lights were necessary to allow the more than 60 school teams to have adequate practice time, particularly in the winter when it’s dark by 4:45 p.m. Extra seats would mean teams wouldn’t have to move old, rickety bleachers from field to field for events, and a building would solve problems like track team members being locked out of the school’s locker rooms.

The audience applauded after nearly every speaker, but one woman was drowned out by those who disagreed with her.

“This situation needs to be addressed,” said Karen Muller, a Newport Beach resident who supported the complex. “You have a couple hundred squeaky wheels … .”

New board President Martha Fluor asked the audience to “be a little respectful.” Earlier, a security guard had to approach a project opponent because he wouldn’t yield the floor after his one-minute time limit was up. Later in the meeting, the same man shouted from the audience at trustee Karen Yelsey, and the security guard told him he would be removed if his outbursts continued.

Neighbors who spoke against the plan said they worried about outside groups using the sports complex, and that parents and students who wanted the project were not residents so they didn’t understand the effects.

Athletic Director Don Grable said students were part of the Eastbluff community and should not be looked at as outsiders.

“They are not rats in a cage,” he said. Later, he said the school’s athletes competed on a national, state and local level against schools with far superior facilities.

“That’s wonderful,” said trustee Vickie Snell, adding that the school’s athletic success did not entitle it to anything.

“If you already have a traffic problem, how can you expand the seats?” she asked.

The next step will be to hire an architect, said district spokeswoman Laura Boss.

The project also will require California Environment Quality Act review, performed by consultants hired by the district. The review could reveal problems or environmental impacts that would need to be addressed, which could mean eliminating certain features currently on the table.

Trustee Judith Franco tsaid the district needed to move forward with the project in order to explore its effects on the community.

“Be patient with the process,” she said. “I know it’s very hard to do.”

Deputy Supt. Paul Reed said the project would take two to three years.

“We’re at the very beginning,” he said.

The school’s cross-country and track coach, Bill Sumner, said the vote was a “huge hurdle.”

“This is called change,” he said. “And nobody really likes change.”