By Calvin Welch, HANC Board and Kezar Stadium Citizen Advisory Committee
Kezar Stadium will open its new track on March 13th (ribbon-cutting at 3 pm). The 18 month rebuild came at the instigation of the Kezar Stadium Citizen Advisory Committee. The 11 person KSCAC has overseen the use and condition of the stadium since 1991. Made up of user groups and neighbors (with HANC being a founding and continuing member) the KSCAC has had to resist various attempts on the part of Recreation and Parks Department from time to time to “professionalize” the uses of the stadium. The Committee drafted and had the Rec and Parks Commission adopt an “Operation and Permit Policy” in August, 1991 (Resolution 16191) that sets “informal community access “ as the “primary use of the new Kezar stadium” with “public and private schools” being the “primary user group at Kezar stadium”. To make the facility less attractive to commercial events and professional sports teams the stadium policy states “consumption or possession of alcohol will not be permitted on the premises at any time”.
As could be expected Rec and Park sought to overturn these rules several times over the last 35 years. In each case the KSCAC resisted these efforts and maintained the community- and youth-serving priorities of the facility. Needless to say, with easy revenue sources denied them, Rec and Park resisted making necessary repairs and maintenance to the facility until the heavily used track surface faced a dangerous level of disrepair. Committee members, having failed in 2003 and again in 2007 to get Rec and Park to budget timely maintenance to the facility, mounted a major campaign in 2013 to have the City allocate some $2 million to replace the entire surface of the track. Thousand of signatures were gathered from schools and neighbors using the facility and the City agreed to fund the repair.
The March 13th re-opening is expected to formally “cut the ribbon” on the new track at 3 pm. All are invited and urged to attend. It is, after all, our stadium.