SPORTS COMPLEX TO CLOSE DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS
The Nimitz Group notified GVRD that it must vacate by May 1
The popular Mare Island Sports Complex, home to numerous sports leagues and athletic classes in Vallejo, is being shuttered due to safety concerns with the building’s age and design, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District announced Wednesday.
The recreation district received an official notice from the building’s landlord, The Nimitz Group, to vacate the building by May 1. The group had already received two engineering reports about the building’s condition, General Manager Gabriel Lanusse said.
In a phone interview Wednesday morning, Lanusse said he believes the closure is permanent.
“This is kind of it. They feel it would be safer if people move out of the building,” Lanusse said of The Nimitz Group. “I don’t think they mind if it’s empty.”
Lanusse said the safety concerns are connected to whether the building can withstand an earthquake.
The Nimitz Group issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon about the closure of the facility.
“The safety of the community is The Nimitz Group’s number one priority. The prior owner had engineering reports prepared which found deficiencies with the building that do not support continuing its longterm use as a recreational facility,” the statement reads. “The Nimitz Group is working cooperatively with the Greater Vallejo Recreation District and the Vallejo Unified School District to evaluate alternatives.”
Reaction was strong Wednesday afternoon as news spread about the facility’s pending closure.
“I’m going to try and reach
out to local celebrities, like E-40, and see if they can help build another facility,” said William Graham before walking into the building on Wednesday. “They should be pretty east to build — we need this in Vallejo.”
Graham teaches youth basketball with his wife Jasmine to about eight kids who are 10 years old and younger.
“These type of activities keep kids out of trouble,” William Graham added. “There is nothing like this place in Vallejo.”
Graham said that he will look to use courts at Solano Middle School for future practices.
Meanwhile, Kiyon Turner, 19, and James Kaden, 20, expressed shock when told about the complex closing.
“People our age have no where to go,” said Turner as he played basketball inside the complex on Wednesday.
James Kaden steal the ball from Kiyon Turner as the play basketball at the Mare Island Sports Complex. GVRD announced the facility will close at the end April.
“(We’d) probably go play at a school playground in the future,” Turner said when asked were the two would play next.
Lanusse said the recreation district is working with the city of Vallejo and the Vallejo City Unified
School District to find replacement facilities.
“It’s going to be difficult to replace,” Lanusse added. “We have people come from all over Solano County, Napa, Sonoma, and Contra Costa counties, too.”
The complex, which
serves about 100,000 annual customers, includes three basketball courts, two indoor soccer fields, four batting cages, up to four volleyball courts, a crossfit gym, cafe and bathrooms with showers.
The 61,586
square-foot building was constructed for the 1939-40 Golden Gate International Exposition or World’s Fair on Treasure Island. It served as the Exposition Coliseum until being moved to Mare Island in 1941, where it served as a warehouse.
The U.S. Navy converted it to a sports complex in 1983. After the shipyard closed in 1996, the facility was re-opened in 1999 as the Pacific Sports Center.
GVRD took over building operations in 2014 after former operator Michael Boyle, was evicted by then owner Lennar Mare Island after falling behind on his rent.
“I’m disappointed it has to close,” Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan said. “I understand the safety concerns.”
Sampayan said he hopes the structure can be rehabilitated and then reopened to the public sometime in the future.
“It’s truly a loss for the city and our community,” he added.