The Ralph K. Reed Pavilion?

Roger Carlson

Do you remember the $127 million school bond which was passed by

voters a year or so ago?

You know, the one which was ticketed to upgrade school facilities

within the Newport-Mesa School District.

It may have slipped your mind, if nothing else, because not much has

changed since the vote.

It takes time for these things to grind toward fruition, but come May

6 at 6:30 a.m. there is a two-hour meeting at Newport Harbor High’s

library where a great deal will be discussed about the rennovation of the

Sailors’ gymnasium complex.

That’s the boys and girls gyms, flanking the old pool site on Irvine

Avenue.

They’ve been kicking around possibilities on how to use the $5 million

earmarked for that area and it’s difficult to predict what will stay,

what will go, and what will be simply improved. Sort of like a Rubik’s

cube. But it seems certain, changes and improvements will be major.

The decisions pretty well need to be in cement in some six weeks if

hopes for a June 2003 start are to be realized.

The base premise is for a gyymnasium to hold some 1,600 to 2,000, as

opposed to the 1,100-seat cracker box the Sailors have had since 1930.

Whether some of the original will remain, like the facade and the

monuments of Yankee Stadium, is to be seen.

Whether there’ll still be a balcony area is to be seen.

Whether they’ll try to improve on the situation with some fund-raising

is to be seen.

Right now there is a nine-member committee at Newport Harbor wrestling

with the questions, another committee below it which will address the

recommendations, and another committee at a higher level which will

oversee, and at some point, approve.

All of this is being brought up for no other reason than to address

another committee - The Long Gray Line.

Ralph K. Reed Gymnasium is the home of some 72 varsity basketball

teams, who played under the hands of Reed, and Lee Trine, and Dick

Spaulding, and Jim Miller, and Jules Gage.

Also in the mix of coaches have been Emil Neeme, Bill Hatch, Al

Hackney, Dave Waxman, Dale Hagey, Ken Ammann, Jerry DeBusk, Tim Parsel,

Bob Serven, Richard Smith and Larry Hirst.

George Yardley and all of his teammates, surely, I hope, will be there

in spirit. And, perhaps, one or two in person, with a comment.

Hopefully some sort of resemblance of the current structure as you

approach it would be in the plans.

The task is a bit overwhelming, but I’m certain they’ll come up with a

plan that will please most, and surely it will be a better situation than

the current, which finds aging facilities in the crumbling stage.

Once the plans are presented they’ll still have to survive some sort

of seismic study and the oversight committee will have to give its final

approval, I’m told.

Having been acquainted the late Ralph K. Reed and his penchant for the

best for the Sailors, it’s pretty safe to say he’ll nod his head in

approval.

The two-hour session May 6, starting at 6:30 a.m., is open to the

public.