The Pauley Letters
Here is the letter (and lengthy appendages) Richard Bergman, the former chair of the Pauley Pavilion renovation project, sent to the University of California Regents president outlining his disapproval of the project:
UC_Regents-Presidents_Letter_4-14-09.pdf
And here is the response from UCLA vice chancellor Steven Olsen:
Pauley_-_Response_from_Olsen_5-5-09.pdf
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This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
At 200 million the design should be much better. Obviously this project is overwhelmed by the bureaucracy that is the UC system. At 200 mil there are way too many issues that are unsolved and that should not be the case at that budget amount.
GREAT info, Dohn. Way to dig it up and post it. I'm at work and can't read it but will definitely give it a thorough look over tonight. Thanks!
I understand Bergman isnt popular with some people, but I think he makes many good points.
I cant help but think that long time season seat holders are going to get the shaft. I cant believe that UCLA's "point system" will sufficiently take into consideration the longevity of many season ticket holders. The wording in UCLA's letter regarding their "point system" didnt pass the smell test in my opinion. I would be shocked if the average fan with decent season seats wont still have to ante up significant additional funds to receive comparable seats.
I hope the Bruin "powers that be" keep the average (long time) fans truly in mind. Unfortunately, I have my doubts. Maybe they'll surprise me.
Richard Bergman is a hero. He is right on and it's a shame UCLA won't tear down parts of Pauley, dig out a bigger hole and make this thing better.
I'm with Bergman.
Bergman is right. This is a $200M project that builds brings Pauley from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Vice Chancellor Olsen's reply states that "the project design has evolved considerably since last November [the date of the plans on which Bergman based his criticisms], and a number of the issues that were raised regarding the design and function of the facility have been addressed through the normal course of the Design Development process."
I hope the Vice Chancellor, or someone else associated with the project, will soon release the updated design so we can all see if those issues have been adequately addressed. While NBBJ may have assured the Executive Committee that they have made the right calculations regarding concourse capacity, flow & continuity, and other areas of concern, I would feel more comfortable if a third-party analysis, such as that provided by Michael Hallmark, were used to critique the design.
Despite the Vice Chancellor's assurances, I have the sinking feeling that we'll end up with an arena that ranks (to quote Michael Hallmark's letter) "in the bottom quartile of recently built collegiate arenas, and in the top quartile of the most expensive."