Costa Mesa’s other Center

Lolita Harper

The glossy, hardwood floors and state-of-the-art backboards at the

gymnasium in Costa Mesa’s new Downtown Recreation Center are a stark

contrast to the alleyway court Jose Ramos is used to playing on.

Before the new gym at the recreation center opened, Jose said he would

join other neighborhood kids for a game of street ball, where the Center

Street home court consisted of a rusted backboard and asphalt.

“I like it here better because there are more hoops,” the 8-year-old

said.

A basketball gym, gymnastics room, multipurpose room, aquatic center,

offices, locker rooms and designated space leased to a separate

child-care facility combine for the 18,000-square-foot facility on

Anaheim Street at Lion’s Park.

The $4.2 million modern center recently took the place of an obsolete

building that was constructed by community volunteers about 60 years ago.

The old community center, once held together with mortar and bricks, was

demolished to make room for a state-of-the-art center.

Despite the abundance of hoops in the new gym, Jose was ordered to

ride the pine by his older brother, while the elder Ramos took part in a

competitive game that was too advanced for his sibling.

His body language suggested Jose was bored but his eyes told a

different story. His almond-shaped brown eyes danced as he followed the

movements of the players up and down the court. Jose flinched slightly

when a stray ball would fly his way, or an exceptionally loud cry arose

from the court.

“I’m just watching,” Jose said. “My brother told me sit down. But as

soon as they are finished, I’m going to play.”

With no family to keep him out of advanced competition, Ensign

Intermediate School student Levi Pulizzi, 14, stepped up to the high

school kids.

“Most of these guys are older but it makes me better because they have

more talent,” Levi said.

Before the recreation center, Levi was limited to playing basketball

at school during lunch. Now he comes to the center every day to practice

jukes, jump shots and layups, while taking pointers from his more

seasoned colleagues. He thinks playing at the Downtown Recreation Center

will give him an advantage when trying out for the high school team.

Ken Sipes, the center’s recreation coordinator, said the basketball

gym has a drop-in program from 2 to 6 p.m. where kids like Levi and Jose

can come and join in a pickup game or just shoot around.

The basketball gym is just one of the many exciting things the shiny

new Downtown Recreation Center has to offer.

Just down the hall, away from the screeches of skidding tennis shoes

and the loud thud of bricks bouncing off the backboard, young girls

practiced their poise, grace and balance in the brand new gymnastics

facility.

Emily Cook concentrated at the task at hand. Her small feet were

poised square on the balance beam as she seemed to analyze the perfect

strategy to cross. The 6-year-old straightened the red bandanna that kept

her hair in place and started across the beam. After a successful trip,

she hopped down, shot a proud look at her instructor and scurried back to

the huddle of gymnasts.

Emily’s mother Dana watched from a bench on the west side of the room.

“It’s always nice to see your kid working in a brand new facility,”

Cook said. “Emily doesn’t care where she is, as long as she is doing

gymnastics. It doesn’t phase my daughter at all.”

When asked to compare the previous gymnastics facility at the city’s

old recreation center with the current digs, Emily said, “I think this

place is better.”

“It’s cleaner,” she added.

As is common with any multimillion dollar project, the new center

experienced its share of setbacks and delays. At the groundbreaking

ceremony in 2000, Costa Mesa officials announced the center would open

Jan. 21, 2001. The date came and went and a year later, the final pieces

of the project were still up in the air.

Parts of the center were accessible to the public in December and the

grand opening was spaced out over a few months. All the pieces finally

fell into place this spring to the relief of many parents.

“It was a long running process,” Cook said. “For a while there,

everything was on a need-to-know basis. It was quite the experience but

nobody suffered from it. It was definitely worth the wait.”

City Manager Allan Roeder said the benefits of the center far outweigh

minor hurdles city officials had to jump over. Roeder said he is pleased

that the center has been embraced by the neighborhood.

“It’s almost as though it has always been there,” Roeder said.

Roeder expected the children to be excited about the new facility but

what he is most enthusiastic about is the active role that parents are

playing in their kids’ after school activities.

“I’ve noticed many of these kids have managed to drag their parents

down there also and that’s always good to see.”

Sipes said the center is still progressing. He hopes to install

televisions, video games, ping pong tables and other entertainment

attractions for what he called a “teen center.” He has plans for the

aquatic center also -- the portion of the center that resulted in the

most delays -- that includes a proposal for a junior lifeguard program.

Currently, the pool serves as an instructional area for beginning to

advanced swimmers.

John Kabata stood poolside while his two daughters took their first

swimming lessons. He had no knowledge of the old pool or recreation

center because his family is new to the area.

“I always thought we were lucky to have such a wonderful facility,”

Kabata said. “It’s nice. We like it. We’ve found our place.”

Kabata, a native of Kenya, Africa, said the key to a successful

aquatic center is water temperature.

“We don’t like the cold,” he joked.

After her lesson, daughter Mary Kabata affirmed her father’s sentiment

and noted that the water was a perfect temperature. She loves swimming

and while warm water may be important, she was ready to venture to cooler

venues.

“I want to swim in the ocean!” Mary said.

-- Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .