On Thursday afternoon, part of the suspended ceiling over the loading dock on the south entrance of Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid collapsed, causing the facility to be shut down. Thursday night’s men’s basketball game was moved to the Gold Mine, Long Beach State’s historic gym that was used prior to the opening of the Pyramid in November of 1994.
The game was moved “out of an abundance of caution,” according to LBSU athletic director Bobby Smitheran.
As of Friday afternoon, all entrances to the Pyramid were roped off with caution tape while construction crews cleared the debris of the piece of blue entrance roof that had collapsed.
“What happened is as straightforward as that,” said LBSU assistant AD Roger Kirk. “It was one of the ceiling panels on the south side over the blue entrance.”
Some season ticket holders said they’d been told that Saturday’s games would be back in the Pyramid, but given the size of the construction operation to clear debris as of Friday afternoon that seems unlikely–although the building could be cleared to host events again next week.
Kirk said that Smitheran was meeting with the university team Friday afternoon about a timeline. While the building is essentially closed, teams have practiced on the Pyramid court on Friday–the collapse was on the exterior of the building.
The Pyramid is the most iconic piece of the LBSU campus, widely recognized by sports fans across the country and to all residents of the city. The building has played host to the school’s basketball and volleyball teams as well as countless other large sporting events, from international sumo wrestling championships to USA volleyball matches and, for several years, the NBA’s Summer League. Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers debut was in the building.
The Pyramid has also served as a filming location for dozens of movies, television shows, and commercials, including a recent Michael Jordan Gatorade spot.
But for all the history the 30-year old building holds, its unique construction has become something of an albatross for the university. Leaks in the metal roof have led to several games being moved due to water dripping onto the court, and the cost of repairing those leaks is high due to the large space-frame structure of the building–a repair in a normal building’s roof is much easier than one on a building that’s 190 feet tall with a sloped surface.
The Long Beach Current, the school’s student newspaper, said a recent university study pegged the cost of a roof replacement as well as other deferred maintenance at $55 million.
Kirk told the Current earlier this school year that the university has commissioned a new feasibility study to take another look at the cost of repairs and renovations.
