The Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees could place a $285 million bond measure on the November ballot that would finance the demolition and rebuilding of Veterans Stadium—and potentially the construction of student housing.
Voters approved Measure E, a $440 million bond measure, in 2008 and Measure LB, an $850 million bond measure, in 2016 to fund new construction, renovation and repairs at the college, but now LBCC officials say their needs are exceeding their funding.
If the board votes to put the bond measure on the ballot and voters approve, it could cost property owners $19 for every $100,000 of assessed value in cities in the district that include Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill and Avalon.
For a home assessed at $500,000, that would add about $8 to a monthly mortgage. A million-dollar home would see a $16 monthly payment increase. The board is expected to meet again on July 20 to decide whether or not to place the bond measure on the ballot.
The money would go toward a total rebuild of Veterans Stadium, which could possibly include a student housing element. College officials have said the stadium is an “eyesore” but also seismically unsound and the cost of retrofitting it is less efficient than starting from scratch.
Costs estimates for addressing the stadium have grown over the years. The 2020 master plan adopted by the college earlier in the 2000s placed the cost of a renovation or expansion of the stadium at about $20 million.
The 2041 master plan adopted in 2016 saw that cost jump to $88 million.
Earlier this year, consultants presented the board with two options, a renovation of the stadium that would cost about $141 million, or a total rebuild that would cost about $185 million.
LBCC has about $89 million on hand from previous bond measures but the new bond measure could ask for another $285 million.
Trustee Sunny Zia asked last week why the college was asking for nearly $200 million more than is needed to pay for the stadium project pointing to previous bond measures that had listed the stadium as a project that would be addressed when voters approved them.
“I’m a little bit concerned that we either ran out of money or it was mismanaged,” Zia said. “Why do we have to go back to the voters for money? I don’t want that to be the perception.”
Marlene Drinkwine, the college’s outgoing vice president of business services, said the additional money could “free up” the $89 million that had been earmarked for the stadium project and fund other investments like making the college’s energy grid more green or installing new security systems that can lock down classrooms from a central location.
The college has previously unsuccessfully applied for some of the $2 billion in state funding that Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in last year’s state budget and Drinkwine said additional bond money could allow LBCC to build student housing if it can’t secure a grant through the state.
Veterans Stadium opened on the Liberal Arts Campus of LBCC in 1950 and has hosted high school and professional football and World Cup qualifier games, and has even served as a motorcycle speedway.
Consultants have told the board that replacing it with a state-of-the-art facility could help the college host sporting events for decades with minimal maintenance concerns when compared to the cheaper retrofit option.
The board is expected to meet again on July 13 to review the results of a poll that’s been circulating through communities the district serves to see if there is public support for the bond measure.
If the board places the measure on the ballot, it could join three charter amendments being considered by the Long Beach City Council that would permanently change the city’s election schedule by aligning it with the state’s, combine the city’s gas and water utilities and overhaul the Citizen Police Complaint Commission.
City Council to consider three charter amendments for Nov. 8 election