LJ FB: Stadium lights

By Ed Piper

A La Jolla High parent recently told me that, had the school wanted new and improved lights for Edwards Stadium, it would have had to apply to the California Coastal Commission for permission. This would have involved an additional agency and likely would have complicated and, no doubt, slowed down the approval for the stadium redo, which is nearly complete.

There is a document on the Internet regarding Malibu High School's application in 2009 for lights, among other campus improvements. The wording in the document includes the effect on a "coastal resource". In other words, since the Coastal Commission was created to protect the state's coastline in the early 1970's, certain things come under that body's purview--including new stanchions and higher-powered lights on the football field that affect neighbors and the like.

Ask any photographer (including myself) who has ever taken photos of a sports contest in La Jolla High's stadium, and they may make reference to the "usual crummy high school lights" that illuminate the field.

It isn't the worst stadium for lighting in the area--nightmare situations come to mind like trying to take action photos near the end zones at Valley Center High while Jim Harbaugh, still coach at USD, was visiting on the sidelines during a Viking football away game. But there is always plenty of room for improvement.

At various times, good-naturedly, I have mentioned to administrators at LJHS, "You know, you could really give me and other photographers a gift by upgrading the lights."

It's not completely out of the realm of possibility for schools to improve their lights. The so-called "Big Gym" on campus, a couple of years ago, was suffering through literal bulb burnout and no rush was being made to replace them.

It made covering basketball games a real downer, because as lighting goes down, "noise" or the speckled look in photos directly increases. (In film photos, we used to call that "grain". Now, in digital, it's properly called "noise", since there is no grain in a digital image.)

An LJHS family contributed money that paid for the rental of the machine that lifts a worker up to the ceiling, and the requisite replacement bulbs.

But, alas, the beautiful upgrade of the outdoor stadium is continuing apace, said by some to be planned for resumed use in mid-August this summer. The plan for upgrade was already delayed at least once, when a new press box was added to original plans and the entire package had to be resubmitted for approval.

The press box looks bigger, and is going to have that new sparkle on it. A permanent concessions stand is going to take its position in the west corner below the home stands. That's going to be a boon for events like Blast-off (opening home game) and Homecoming, when, previously, temporary awnings were put up and the whole affair was pretty ad hoc, catch-as-catch-can in comparison to what will be there now.

The new, permanent visiting stands are already erected. They seemingly reach to the moon, they are so high. The capacity is really good. The stands are fitted between the multiple buildings on the visitors side--coaches offices, sports team room, and so forth. I forget what was in the building plans I eyed one day in the campus library, but a new restroom will also sit on that sideline. Remember the old ancient one, with half-doors in miniscule toilet stalls on the boys side? Unbelievable. Straight out of 1922, the school's founding date, I suppose.