City College’s $104.1 million Sports Pavilion project jumped a major hurdle on April 17 when the Board of Trustees approved seven contracts including change orders up to $100,000.

An updated Sports Pavilion, a project originally proposed in June 2023 is expected to be completed by March 2028. The Sports Pavilion was originally built in 1965 and has many structural deficiencies that cause safety hazards for students. 

“We have limited hours, we have limited resources,” President of Student Athlete Advisory Committee Zett Contreras said. “I feel like with this new building we can definitely open up that space to bring in a lot more people and just help our community overall.”

Vice President of Business Services Chris Renbarger and Kitchell Construction Manager Shane Mahan provided the board with an update on the procurement process which began in January.

“You all know better than I do that this is the result of many years of effort,” Renbarger said. “Now we’re at the point for at least one of the projects where the rubber might meet the road if you say yes to it.”

Mahan presented PCL Construction as the lowest bidder for general contractor with a bid of $10.2 million. 

To meet state requirements and ensure code compliance, City College must hire two independent oversight teams. Karwoski Inspectors will serve as inspector of record, overseeing day-to-day construction activities and ensuring work meets building codes and state regulations. Twining Consulting, a Ventura-based firm was selected as laboratory of record and will be responsible for testing materials such as steel and concrete for quality and safety.

“We are requesting qualifications of these inspectors along with a proposal of costs from the inspectors as well,” Mahan said. 

The project’s total cost is estimated at $104.1 million with a state contribution of $34 million.

Trustee Marsha Croninger pushed back on the project’s overall scope and cost.

“As many of you know my perspective on this is that it has gone beyond what makes sense,” Croninger said. “We have other buildings in our core academic programs that are worse off, that have more problems, that need fixing sooner, that have worse earthquake evaluation than this building.”

Croninger also criticized the second bond item up for approval. This item, if approved, grants Superintendent-President Erika Endrijonas or her designated authority to approve the construction contract and make any necessary changes to it as long as the changes stay within the original plan and budget. Croninger said that this goes against board policies and weakens the board’s oversight. 

Endrijonas committed to providing weekly reports including change orders, substantial changes, project progress and total expenditures to the board.

“I understand where you’re coming from and my request would be let’s give it a chance,” Endrijonas said. “If you’re not comfortable then we can revisit this, but I think you’re going to find with bond projects that I’m as conservative about costs as you are.” 

The Board approved all seven contracts for the Sports Pavilion, prompting cheers and applause from the Athletics Department in the crowd.

Hazardous material removal is anticipated to start in June and take a total of 120 days. The general contractor will mobilize concurrently with hazardous material removal. Building demolition will occur after hazardous material and remediation are complete.

Building construction, or phase three is anticipated to begin in April 2026.

The Board will reconvene on May 16.