sports | State athletic group considering ban on use of helmets, pads in spring, summer football practice [ 13 ]
.com
Reporter
On the go?
newsline 425-453-4270
Bellevue
GET OUR FREE MOBILE APP Scan this code and start receiving local news on your mobile device today!
friday, March 2, 2012
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Bellevue still ‘in the game’ for NBA arena By Nat Levy Bellevue Reporter
Mason Timm, an 11th grader, reads in the library of the newly-constructed Bellevue High School on Wednesday morning. Gabrielle Nomura, Bellevue Reporter
New Bellevue High School opens its doors $92 million facility offers bright looks, new features By Gabrielle Nomura Bellevue Reporter
Bellevue High School students used to look out the window and see a parking lot. Now, they look out at picturesque Meydenbauer Bay. It’s only one impressive feature at the 196,000 square-foot, $92 million facility, which, after two years of construction, finally opened its doors for operations Monday. Parts of the old school are being demolished, while other sections are being kept and repurposed. For example, the old
cafeteria has now been converted into a weight room and locker room area. Students and teachers said goodbye to the old school before mid-winter break, said Bellevue principal Scott Powers. “We had a little celebration as part of our transition, marching the kids through the hallways one last time,” Powers said. Plans for renovating Bellevue High have been in the works since 2006, when the district identified that the school needed a new performing arts center. But that’s not all it needed. Most of the classrooms were smaller than the standard 1,000 square feet in most schools, and some classrooms didn’t even have windows. Bellevue High School was originally
built in 1948, and much of the school’s interior data connections weren’t viable for the computer and technology-heavy classes that are taught today, said Jack McLeod, district facilities director. So in 2008, parents and staff recommended demolishing the old school and constructing a new one. The project, started in 2010, will be complete by this fall, when the last of the school’s features, the performing arts center and gym, are finished. With students remaining on site, it can be a challenge to do construction, McLeod said. And because the contractor had to work around the students’ schedule, See school, 15
Metal Refinishing
Photo Specialists
Can Cost Less. Take Less Time
PASSPORT PHOTOS Visa • Immigration • All Countries • Infants
589321
•
OLD & ELEGANT DISTRIBUTING
JUST NORTH OF BELLEVUE SQUARE. EASY ACCESS, EASY PARKING.
1100 Bellevue Way NE • (425) 455-2126 www.OMEGAPHOTO.biz
than replacing Plumbing, Door & Cabinet Hardware, Lighting etc.
www.differentbydesign.com
10203 Main St Lane, Bellevue | Call for directions 425-455-4660 • www.oldandelegant.com
Bellevue is “in the game” for a new NBA/ NHL arena, and a proposal may come forth in the near future, officials said Tuesday. As part of a forum sponsored by the Bellevue Downtown Association, City Manager Steve Sarkozy revealed that the city has been in consistent talks with private investors to try and create a plan for a new arena in Bellevue. “We think with this very thoughtful approach, working with private investment groups, we think this project is very real for the Eastside,” Sarkozy said. “Bellevue is very much an option.” The discussion came in the wake of news about the possibility of an NBA arena in Seattle. San Francisco-based hedge fund manager Christopher Hansen, a Seattle native, has said he would put up most of the cost an arena in Seattle’s SoDo area, with a city/county contribution that would be repaid through taxes and charges on tickets and concessions. Bellevue has been a rumored destination for a new arena going back to when Clay Bennett purchased the Sonics basketball team in 2006. Bellevue officials have stayed tight-lipped on these discussions in the past, but Tuesday called it the city’s “worst-kept secret.” Officials speaking at the Bellevue forum said multiple options for arena placement need to foster a helpful discussion, not a competitive one. Officials cited Los Angeles, which lost its NFL franchise in 1995, failing to get a new team because of lack of cooperation between potential ownership groups. “We have to show that we can do better than Los Angeles, and we can discuss multiple site locations in a way that is professional and productive,” said Brian Robinson, founder of Arena Solution, a coalition of sports figures and business leaders trying to lure a team back to the area. The discussion continues to swing on the financial aspects. Sarkozy said he was given a “license to hunt,” but not a license to spend money on pursuing an arena. He said he was looking for a deal that required less public investment than the Hansen proposal in Seattle. Nat Levy: 425-453-4290; nlevy@bellevuereporter.com