Groundbreaking for Santa Monica’s Civic Center Multipurpose Sports Field
August 20, 2019 8:34 AM
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – On Tuesday, August 27, the City of Santa Monica will break ground on its newest sports facility, the Civic Center Multipurpose Sports Field. Slated to open in summer of 2020, the community sports field will serve Santa Monicans of all ages with space to play soccer, rugby, and lacrosse.
In tandem with the construction of the field, the City will conduct an arts-driven community engagement project to commemorate the history of the site, once the center of Santa Monica’s historic African American community known as the Belmar neighborhood.
The City will work with key community leaders, artists and Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson, a prominent historian on the history of the African-American community in Santa Monica, for this project. This group will collaborate on the development of a significant community engagement process and subsequent education strategy, with the goal of increasing awareness of the legacy of the Belmar neighborhood and the impact of the forced displacement of African American community members on the greater Santa Monica community. This will result in a series of public artworks that commemorate this history, with additional artworks to be developed for surrounding areas in the future.
Visit santamonica.gov/civiccenter for event details.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 27, 10 – 11 a.m.
WHERE: Civic Center Surface Parking Lot (East of the Civic Auditorium)
1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, 90405
The event is on an active construction site and closed-toed shoes are required.
WHO: The groundbreaking will include remarks from:
- Nat Trives, Past Mayor & Councilmember, City of Santa Monica and Santa Monica Police Sergeant
- Reverend Lemuel “Mack” Mossett, III, Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Santa Monica
- Gleam Davis, Mayor, City of Santa Monica
- Lori Brown, Chair, Santa Monica Recreation & Parks Commission
- Maryanne LaGuardia, Vice-Chair, Santa Monica Recreation & Parks Commission
- Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson, Historian
GETTING THERE: The event is within close walking distance to the Downtown Santa Monica Expo Station and multiple Big Blue Bus lines. Parking is available a short walk from the site in the Civic Center Structure.
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Media Contact
Constance Farrell
Communications & Public Information Manager
Constance.Farrell@santamonica.gov