New gym, swimming pool taking shape on Cal Maritime campus

Anyone who has gone to the California Maritime Academy campus to watch a basketball game has likely found the seating area a little, say, snug, if not downright crowded.

That shouldn't be the case when the new Physical Education and Aquatics Center on the South Vallejo campus opens next year.

Under construction since March, the new building will house a large swimming pool, basketball courts, classrooms and various offices.

Construction activity, plus new walls, concrete slabs and other features can clearly be seen to anyone driving by the campus on Interstate 80 or on local streets nearby.

"This is a big project for our little school," said Kurt Lohide, Cal Maritime vice president for administration and finance.

Once complete, the main gymnasium will seat 650 spectators -- about 500 more than the current gym in Mayo Hall.

That old gym plus the existing pool have changed little over the last five decades and hearken back to a time when the student population was about 200, far fewer than the record number of students who have applied for entrance to Cal Maritime, about 1,045.

The new building will have "California Maritime Academy" and "California State University" in large lettering on the outside, making it clear to those driving in the vicinity that Vallejo is home to a state university.

Estimated to cost about $29 million, the new gymnasium and outdoor pool are part of an evolving Cal Maritime landscape which also includes a new dining hall, new bookstore and new building to house the campus police department.

Construction of the new gymnasium is funded through state bonds and represents an expansion of the Cal Maritime footprint well outside its boundaries on Morrow Cove.

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New gym, swimming pool taking shape on Cal Maritime campus