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Drake Stadium
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Message from Dan Guerrero - Aug. 1, 2014

August 01, 2014 | Bruin Athletics

Dear Bruins,

Let me begin by once again thanking all of you for the outpouring of support, concern and offers of assistance we have received as we continue to work through the consequences of Tuesday's flood.

Officials and staff from the City of Los Angeles, the UCLA campus, primarily Campus Recreation, and from our Athletics Department have been diligently working 24-hours a day since the water main break.

Assisted by outside experts and mitigation companies, their hard work has produced an incredible turnaround. Most of campus and our facilities are "back to normal", but challenges do remain.

As of this morning, let me provide you with an update:

  • To recap, the water main break on Sunset Boulevard Tuesday impacted the following structures relating to Athletics: Drake Stadium, John Wooden Center, J.D. Morgan Center, UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, Acosta Center, Gifford Golf Practice Facility and Pauley Pavilion.
  • The Drake Stadium track is fully functional and has been restored to its original condition. We will continue to monitor the track surface and our soccer field grass to make sure that there are no late-onset issues that develop.
  • The Hall of Fame at the J.D. Morgan Center will receive new flooring and minor repairs in the coming weeks. No displays or trophies were affected at any time during this incident.
  • The Gifford Golf Practice Facility will continue its clean-up efforts with assistance from professional golf groundskeepers who are helping to restore the practice green and bunkers.
  • The Bud Knapp Football Complex and Acosta Athletic Complex will be fully operational for the return of football after the Bruins break camp in San Bernardino in a few weeks.
  • Collins Court in the John Wooden Center will receive a new floor and is expected to be ready for use by early November. We are currently evaluating all of our options for women's volleyball home games affected by the work on Collins.
  • Repairs to the interior of Pauley Pavilion are ongoing. In the coming weeks, the playing surface, locker rooms and other ancillary areas, as well as the Pavilion Club will all be addressed.
  • The entire wood floor at Pauley Pavilion will be replaced with a new state-of-the-art court. Factoring in order, delivery, acclimation and installation time, it is our expectation that the new floor will be ready for play by the end of October. It is also our expectation that no regular season men's or women's basketball games will be missed as a result of the court replacement.
  • We continue to work with our partners in campus recreation to ensure that all of our teams displaced by the installation of a new court will have access to appropriate practice facilities while the work continues.

In my message to you on Tuesday, I noted two of Coach Wooden's quotes applicable to our challenge. Today, I provide you with another well-known quote: "Be quick, but don't hurry."

We must work expediently to restore all of our facilities but not rush. In the end, we must ensure that the high standards established for UCLA Athletics are met.

It is my hope that this will be my last update on the flood-related developments for some time, as we are on our way to resuming normal operations.

I'd like to thank our campus partners, especially Campus Recreation and Cultural Affairs, for their collaboration and support during this time. We are also grateful for the support of UCLA students as we work together through this time of transition.

Thank you once again for your tremendous support, and Go Bruins!

Sincerely,

Dan