Los Angeles Kings Donate 150K To El Segundo Aquatics Center

The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Los Angeles Kings have donated 150K to kick-off the construction of the El Segundo Aquatic Center, located on the site of the new Wiseburn High School which opens in August.

The Kings practice in town at the Toyota Sports Center, and have donated the $150,000 to help construct the 13.8 million state-of-the-art facility which will be outdoors.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held overlooking the overlooking the construction. Among the attendees were 1984 Olympic silver medalist Cynthia ‘Sippy’ Woodhead and El Segundo mayor Suzanne Fuentes. Fuentes stated that the facility “epitomizes a great community partnership and is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of many community members.”

The pool has been designed to be available for both the general public and members of the Wiseburn and El Segundo high schools. It features a 53.2 by 25 meter 10 lane competition pool with two moveable bulk-heads and an expanded entry for the shallow-end. It will also include stadium seating, high-tech scoreboards, and a four-lane teaching pool.

The reason the facility was designed in order to facilitate both the high schools and the community was that the city’s main facility, the Urho Saari Swim Stadium, is in need of repairs.

“Originally, our city wasn’t too excited about replacing a revenue-generating property with a non-revenue-generating school, however, Wiseburn and El Segundo were determined to take the opportunity to arrive at a winning solution for all involved,” Fuentes said.

In terms of funding, Wiseburn is contributing 6 million and the city 1.8 million, while the remaining 6 million is coming from their “Fill the Pool” fundraising campaign, a nonprofit launched by South Bay Sports Health and Recreation. Leader Richard Lunquist reports they are about 60% of the way there.