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UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero says Pauley Pavilion will be ready for basketball season

Jul 30, 2014

The cleanup job after Tuesday's flood that inundated parts of the UCLA campus continued Wednesday, but athletic officials say that they expect Pauley Pavilion to be ready for action come basketball season.

In an interview with Pac-12 Networks' Ashley Adamson, UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said that despite its floor sustaining major damage in the flood, Pauley will be ready to play host to the Bruins' men's and women's basketball teams later this year.

"Pauley is hallowed ground," Guerrero said. "You don't wish this on anyone, and it was unavoidable. Now is the time for us to get together and figure out what the game plan is moving forward."

A 30-inch water main dating back 93 years burst just before 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, UCLA officials say, spewing upwards of 10 million gallons of water throughout campus. It took Los Angeles utility crews nearly four hours to fully stop the flow of water, but by that point, untold damage had been done to several buildings on campus.

One of those buildings was Pauley, which recently underwent a $136 million renovation. The Los Angeles Times reports that portions of the arena were under 10 inches of water. Beyond the Pavilion, news helicopter footage showed the track and a portion of the field at Drake Stadium, the home of UCLA track & field and soccer teams, submerged as well.

Guerrero said that alternate plans are in the works for the fall sports season in case facilites aren't ready in time. UCLA's women's volleyball team was scheduled to play one game at Pauley - their Sept. 23 match-up with rival USC - while the rest of their games are scheduled for Collins Court at the John Wooden Center. The playing surface at Collins is also being evaluated.

In a statement posted to UCLABruins.com Wednesday afternoon, Guerrero said that none of the structures impacted by flooding - including Pauley, the Wooden Center, Drake Stadium, the Bud Knapp Football Complex and the Acosta Athletic Complex - sustained structural damage. However, the floor at Pauley presents the "largest issue."

Luckily, UCLA officials say that no one was injured in the flooding and that priceless historical items in the Morgan Center and the school's Hall of Fame were saved. Specifically, Guerrero says that Wooden's Den and UCLA's 111 national championship trophies were not damaged. He credited the school's student athletes and volunteers for quickly jumping into action to help limit the damage.

"It was really inspiring as we went through the flood itself to see volunteers and student-athletes take off their shoes and try to keep water from coming into the facilities," he said. "It was reflective of the Bruin spirit."

Silt was also removed from the new track at Drake after the flood water was removed, and by Wednesday morning, Guerrero said that people were running on it once again.

In classic Bruins fashion, Guerrero channeled the legendary coach as the school continues to clean up.

"The greatest thing I can do is quote Coach Wooden - today is the only day, yesterday is gone," he said.