UCLA’s Dan Guerrero offers damage assessment after flooding

UCLA’s athletic teams will be able to use Pauley Pavilion and other venues this season, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said.

University officials inspected the arena and other facilities and found no structural damage caused by massive flooding when a water main broke on Sunset Boulevard on Tuesday. The court in Pauley Pavilion will have to be replaced and other repairs are necessary.

“They’re assessing the status of the court right now,” Guerrero said. “I think the most prevailing mindset right now is that if we needed to put in a new court, we’d certainly have the time to do it. But we’ll evaluate all of our options.”

A temporary court would be another option.

UCLA men’s basketball team hosts Azusa Pacific in an exhibition game on Oct. 31. The women’s team plays Westmont at home Nov. 2.

The home opener for women’s volleyball is Sept. 23, but the team was already scheduled to play most of its matches in the Wooden Center this season. That court was also damaged by water, but Guerrero said that it was minimal.

Pauley Pavilion underwent a $136-million renovation and re-opened in 2012. Guerrero said that the court was the “main concern” and that “structurally, the venue is fine, and that’s the good news.”

Cleanup was well underway Wednesday and repairs could start in the next few days.

“We will have to deal with some of the damages on the north side, that’s where most of the damage was,” Guerrero said. “It certainly started to leak down to the Pavilion Club and into the locker room areas and things of that nature. But, you know, it’s a steel building for the most part. Obviously we’re going to need to do some things with the carpet and perhaps some of the drywall and things of that nature, but for the most part, the main concern really was the court.”

Asked if the city of Los Angeles would be footing the bill, Guerrero said: “I couldn’t answer that. I don’t know. I would certainly like athletics to not have to foot any of the bill, and I don’t believe we will.”

Guerrero said that insurance could cover the costs.

“We had a lot of folks in last night that were doing the job of cleanup, and that continues today,” Guerrero said. “Then you have all of our risk management people working with adjusters to sort things out.”

The concern for the moment was finding a facility that teams could use for practice.

“Volleyball is such that you could put a sport court on a surface and still be functional, so we’ll evaluate our options there,” Guerrero said. “Practice-wise, we’re going to have to utilize whatever resources we can within the Wooden Center and the student athletics center.”

On Wednesday, staff and volunteers helped secure the memorabilia in the UCLA Hall of Fame, located in the Morgan Center, including the display housing John Wooden’s den. Guerrero said only the carpet needed to be replaced in the Hall of Fame.

Drake Stadium, home of the track and field teams, was submerged by rushing waters Tuesday. By Wednesday afternoon, students were already running on the track.

The Acosta Center, which has a weight room, meeting rooms and locker rooms, was slightly damaged, but “none of it was significant,” Guerrero said.