New Beach Volleyball facility, Wildlife Sanctuary to open

January 24, 2024 - 03:22 PM

The finishing touches are being made to Mt. SAC’s new Beach Volleyball facility and adjacent reconfigured Wildlife Sanctuary.

The new home of the Beach Volleyball team, located south of Temple Avenue off Mt. SAC Way, has six regulation courts, a multimedia LED scoreboard, broadcasting capabilities, and much more.

“This new facility will continue to strengthen our extremely successful Beach Volleyball Program and our Athletics Department by offering a space for our women’s team that is in line with our other recent and competitive high-level courts, fields and pool,” said Joe Jennum, dean and director of Athletics.

Because this new volleyball facility is one of the finest in the state at the community college level, the program figures to draw further interest from top athletes.

“This new facility will be a beacon for student-athletes to get excited about coming to school and pursuing higher education.  It will … be able to host conference, regional and state championship events. We also see grass roots opportunities with local high schools and club offerings for training and competition,” Jennum said.

As for the Wildlife Sanctuary, the 26-acre facility received a facelift. The entrance has become more welcoming, offering a place for students and the community to gather for classes and tours. And the facility has added restrooms.

“We hope the new entrance encourages more use of the sanctuary,” Biology professor Mark Cooper said. “The college has been looking for areas with outdoor classroom space. With the new entrance, it might be more inviting for other programs on campus to use.”

The upgrades should boost awareness and attendance at the Wildlife Sanctuary.

“We run into people in the community that were unaware of what the area was and how to get access and tours,” Cooper said. “With the grand opening and an update on the Mt. SAC Wildlife Sanctuary webpage in the works, we are hoping to showcase this community resource to more people.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening of the facilities will be on Wednesday, February 14, at 4:30 p.m. in Lot W, right in front of both venues.