UCLA: Pauley Pavilion Needs New Floor, Will Be Open For Basketball Season
WESTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Among the structures to suffer extensive damage throughout the chaos of Tuesday's water-main break flood at UCLA included the treasured Pauley Pavilion.
However, officials say that, with hard work, the most storied arena in college sports should be ready for the 2014-15 college basketball season.
On Wednesday, as several vans stood idle, pumping water out of UCLA's football center building, blowing machines were hard at work next door, inside Pauley Pavilion, attempting to dry as much of the court as possible.
Officials said Wednesday evening, six workers were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes that accumulated from the pumps being used to remove standing water on the gym floor.
The men were taken to the hospital and treated.
KCAL9's Juan Fernandez said work was going "Around the clock."
LA City Fire crews rushed to the Wooden Center to help the men.
The problem, Fernandez reported, not enough ventilation in the building to keep up with the pumps and the exhaust they were putting out.
"We only have, right now, about 6,000 cubic feet a minute of exhaust, and the more pumps we bring on line, the more issues we have with carbon monoxide," said Gene Block, UCLA Chancellor.
While structures such as the Wooden Center, named after legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, are used heavily throughout the year for athletics, there are also a lot of students who work there during summer.
"I was heading over to the John Wooden Center to pick up my check, but they said it was flooded, so I (couldn't) get in there," Sophomore Raven Foster said.
The flooring of the Wooden Center will now undoubtedly need to face repairs.
"The Wooden Center has (suffered) water damage, and it does not have power right now," UCLA Vice Chancellor of Administration Jack Powazek said. "Hopefully we'll restore (power) in the next couple of days, but it has a wooden floor also, which will have to be replaced."
Meanwhile, Pauley Pavilion, which had just undergone a substantial renovation in 2012, was still being examined to assess the extent of the water's damage.
"The boards are cupping a little bit, and the floor is expanding out, so we can tell by looking at our volleyball holes that we've moved about three-quarters of an inch on each side," Pauley Pavilion facility manager Dennis Koehne said.
Ultimately, the floor of Pauley Pavilion will have to be replaced, which athletic director Dan Guerrero says can be done before the start of basketball season this Fall.
"Our first game is October 31, so by the time we hit the end of October, we will certainly be ready to go," Guerrero said.
However, the 2014 Teen Choice Awards show, which was set to be nationally televised live from Pauley Pavilion on August 10, will have to find another venue.
Nearly four years ago, Pauley Pavilion experienced similar damages when a previous water main broke, causing water to flood part of the floor.
In that case, UCLA was able to open the gem of college basketball courts by the start of basketball season.