By Mike Hazlip—
Plans to finally build a new sports stadium at Mesa Verde High School in Citrus Heights have drawn praise from former and current students and families, but not everyone is happy.
During a community meeting held earlier this month, school officials gave residents an opportunity to voice concerns over noise, lights, and traffic related to the stadium. Plans call for the new stadium to be built on the site of the school’s existing football field, just feet away from a row of homes along Lost Creek Court and Cessna Drive.
Resident Helen Verescak said she is concerned the stadium will affect the peace and quiet of the community she has enjoyed since moving to the area in 2016.
“I moved there because they didn’t have any night lights,” Verescak told The Sentinel. “But now that’s going to change. Will the value of my home go down?”
Verescak joined resident Linda Bolen at the meeting to give project planners their concerns. Bolen has been a resident of the area for over 30 years and claims school officials did not notify residents of the proposal until recently. Residents received a letter in the mail about a week and a half prior to the April 7 meeting, she said.
“They never came to the neighbors and said okay, this is what’s going in,” Bolen said.
See visuals of future stadium: Mesa Verde High School to get new stadium using bond funds
Chief Operations Officer for San Juan Unified School District Frank Camarda told The Sentinel prior meetings about the stadium were held during the years-long process, but the district was focused on COVID-19 changes in recent years.
“We probably could have done a better job getting a little bit earlier in the process,” Camarda said. “So we’re starting now, we’re bringing information, we’re hearing concerns. We have worked well with all of our neighbors on other projects.”
Camarda stressed that the new stadium will feature the latest lighting technology to minimize glare. Planners are also looking at sound decibel levels from the speakers and ways to discourage traffic along the residential streets behind the planned stadium, he said.
When it comes to the noise of the crowd however, Camarda said there aren’t many options: “We have to come to grips that there’s going to be noise, that’s one of the things.”
Mesa Verde High School has never had a stadium for home games, but discussion has been ongoing for decades. The Mavericks play home games at other schools, according to the school’s athletic director Travis Miller.
A 2014 report from the district shows Mesa Verde held a forum on Oct. 29 of that year to discuss the use of Measure N funds at the school. The result was a consensus to use the funds for a new synthetic turf all-weather football field and running track. Participants chose the athletic complex over a new cafeteria and “curb appeal” measures to improve the campus, the document shows.
The team plays about five home games each season and Camarda said officials are considering scheduling the games to minimize noise levels at night.
Camarda said the school worked with landscape architecture and civil engineering firm Verde Design to develop the site plan. He said officials considered several options for the stadium including positioning it further away from residential homes.
Ultimately, planners decided that re-configuring the existing ball fields would cost more than the school’s funds would allow. Camarda said the current plan is the best option given the land-locked site and the total budget of about $4 million.
Miller, the school’s athletic director, said he understands resident’s concerns, but hopes a compromise can be reached.
“I think those are completely valid concerns absolutely,” he said. “But I think when they work it out with the district it sounds like they should be able to find some sort of conclusion that makes everybody happy.”
Want to share your thoughts on the new stadium project? Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
By Mike Hazlip—
Plans to finally build a new sports stadium at Mesa Verde High School in Citrus Heights have drawn praise from former and current students and families, but not everyone is happy.
Thanks for reading The Sentinel. You are either trying to access subscribers-only content or you have reached your limit of 4 free articles per 30 days. Click here to sign in or subscribe.