By Rachel Shafer  |  Photos By Courtesy UC Berkeley

 

To build or not to build?

As of press time, the fate of UC Berkeley’s planned student-athlete training center rests in the hands of Alameda Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller, who has 90 days from October 11 to decide whether the University can proceed with construction of the facility.

During the fall trial, lawyers argued over several issues, including the center’s seismic safety.

Two Berkeley Engineering professors proffered their own opinion on the matter earlier this year. After reviewing an independent study that found no active faults under the building site, civil and environmental engineering professors Greg Fenves, past department chair, and Jack Moehle, director of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, argued in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed that the project must go forward.

“Cal athletes and athletic staff deserve the same level of protection as occupants of other seismically upgraded campus buildings,” the researchers wrote. “Let them move out of Memorial Stadium and into a state-of-the-art building that meets meticulous earthquake safety standards.”

Construction on the center has been stalled since last January when Judge Miller issued an injunction in response to three lawsuits brought against the University.

Fenves and Moehle cited the independent study as evidence that the project is compliant with seismic law. Although the center would be close to the Hayward fault, it would experience no greater shaking than any other building within a two-mile radius, they argued, and its superb, peer-reviewed design assures seismic soundness.

“The city’s allegation is unfounded from our perspective as earthquake engineers,” Fenves and Moehle concluded. “In fact, the city’s lawsuit has the potential to jeopardize the safety of Cal athletes by delaying and possibly derailing the first step of a critical project to seismically retrofit the 83-year-old Memorial Stadium.”

If Judge Miller rules in favor of the University, work on the project will begin immediately. If she rules against, the University says it’s ready to respond to any additional legal requirements she imposes.