Board OKs Plans for Royal High Stadium

Royal High School could see a new stadium as early as next fall. But some sports fans say stadium plans approved by the Simi Valley Unified school board Tuesday night were a far cry from the original plans.

The board had to cut out some amenities, such as a ticket booth and state-of-the-art running track, eliminated 850 seats and put out the project to new bidders after original cost estimates submitted by construction companies in August ran more than $3 million.

The board voted to give the new bid to Chartered Construction of Los Angeles, which agreed to build the stadium for $2.7 million. Chartered has built several school buildings, but this would be its first athletic stadium.

But some members of the stadium design committee wanted the board to hold out for a better stadium.

“I hope that we don’t sacrifice quality for expedience,” said committee member Caesar Julian, who five years ago promised his then-sophomore daughter that she could play soccer in the new stadium.

“I want a stadium as much as anyone at this stage,” he said. “I just don’t think we should rush into it.”

Earlier this year, district officials talked about constructing the area’s only high school stadium with artificial turf, but decided it was cost prohibitive at more than $1 million.