Panorama City : New Gym Opens at Sepulveda Center

Gone are the days of shooting hoops at the neighboring Sepulveda Middle School and ferrying league players back and forth for home games.

With a new gymnasium tripling the size of the Sepulveda Recreation Center’s indoor facilities, the center’s adult and youth basketball leagues have a permanent home in a 5,000-square-foot modern building at 8825 Kester Ave.

The gymnasium’s official dedication isn’t until Saturday, but 34-year-old Stephan Marshall of Panorama City said he has used the gym for three weeks already.

Marshall’s back isn’t in such great shape, he said, but he can still appreciate the pleasure of playing on the smooth, blond wood floors.

Stopping his dribbling briefly Wednesday, he surveyed the gym with its skylight and boldly painted rafters and trim.

“I think it’s beautiful,” Marshall said. “And it’s close to home. The backboards are still clean. . . . I hope it stays this way.”

The recreation center, which straddles the border between Panorama City and North Hills, gets 1,800 to 2,000 visitors a week, said Rosie Medina, the recreation center’s office manager.

The $1.6-million building, built between April, 1994, and August, 1995, is the centerpiece of the park, overlooking outdoor courts, swings and a jungle gym. So-called Quimby funds--fees paid by developers for community recreation facilities in the vicinity of their developments--financed the construction.

After the dedication, not only will basketball leagues play at the new gym, but hip-hop dancers, boxers and gymnasts will use the facilities too.

Senior-citizen nutrition classes will cook in the kitchen, which is equipped with a six-burner professional stove.

Medina said the old gymnasium building may be used as a day-care center.

The new facility will be “an incredible asset to the community,” she said.

“We are a multicultural facility,” Medina said, stressing the park’s safety. “We have people from all over the world who use us. Everyone gets along here.”

There will be an open house for the gymnasium, including karate demonstrations and arts and crafts displays, Saturday. For more information, call the Sepulveda Recreation Center at (818) 893-3700.