Council, Schools Plan Recreation Center

A corner of the Santa Fe High School campus could become a hot after-school hangout if a partnership between the city and school district skates along smoothly.

The Santa Fe Springs City Council and Whittier Union High School District--which encompasses schools in both cities--are negotiating the details for an outdoor recreation center to include a lighted, 11,400-square-foot in-line skating rink. Construction on the $1.3-million Center Court Project could begin by summer, said City Manager Don Powell.

“Kids in the community who like to skate and play hockey don’t have a place to go. They use parking lots of different facilities and play havoc with the tennis courts,” Powell said, noting that the site consists of dilapidated courts that the school district doesn’t have the funds to improve.

Santa Fe Springs will pour $966,000 into the center, building courts for basketball, tennis, racquetball and volleyball, as well as a roller hockey facility and a clubhouse for staff. The school district will spend an additional $366,000 on the parking area, lighting and landscaping.

Use will be restricted to the high school during the day, but at 4 p.m. and on weekends the city will take over and operate the center until 11 p.m. daily. The city also plans to charge a small fee at the in-line rink for both free skating and league hockey. Use of the sports courts, however, will be free.

Already, for the last year or so, youths from the community have been using the area informally for street hockey and skating, said Santa Fe High Assistant Principal Harry Yessian.

“Redoing the area will put it to good uses that benefit both the school and the community,” he said. “It’s a pretty good trade-off.”