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Pasadena City College’s athletic teams are being put at a disadvantage by playing on outdated fields, some of which are not even at the school.

The football field here at PCC was recently resurfaced, improving the track and the artificial turf that the athletes run on. The field was redone because it has been 12 years since the last major renovation. Most track and fields are made to last for about 10 years of use.

Due to the track not being in the best condition, the Lancers track and field team was unable to practice or hold competitions at home. Instead, the team was practicing at John Muir High School four to five days a week.

“In the future we will be able to host competitions. For the past three years we have not not been able to host any competition because we do not have a [proper] track,” head coach of the track team Innocent Egbunike said. “So, hopefully it is going to help us with the recruiting, with everything.”

“The college has identified approximately $1.28 million to replace the playing surface and track, using funds designated for capital improvements at the college,” said Alex Boekelheide, the executive director of strategic communications & marketing at PCC. “[Also] including $300,000 in funding from the PCC Foundation.”

While it is great that the Lancers football and track team finally got a much needed update that is well overdue, it looks like there are no updates on the way for some of the other athletic teams on campus.

Two teams on campus don’t even have the luxury of playing in an outdated gym or on a brand new field. Both softball and baseball have to go through the trouble of practicing and playing games at fields miles away from PCC.

“From what I’ve been told PCC is landlocked,” said the Lancers softball head coach Monica Tantlinger. “There’s not room for a [softball/baseball] field on campus. We are constantly in an uphill battle with that. If we had a field on campus I think that it would be much more beneficial for our student athletes. I know [PCC] has a new president who’s very invested in athletics, and so I’m hoping that she at least takes a look, and kinda see’s what’s going on with that.”

Not having a true home field is an unfortunate drawback for our athletic teams. Without an on-campus field, baseball and softball playoffs have to move their schedule around travel distance, albeit not far, but it still can cause some annoying headaches.

“We are up against some things that other schools don’t have to deal with,” Tantlinger said. “I think that our administration now is working to really invest in athletics, but there’s been a long line of situations that haven’t been positive for us.”

“Every other sport besides softball gets to go from their car, to their class, to their field,” said head coach Patrick McGee. “We don’t.”

While it looks like baseball and softball — both playoff teams — are stuck without a true home field, the Hutto-Patterson gym is finally getting updated.

“We were recently approved for reflooring in the gym,” athletic director Tony Barbone said. “It has been a while since the last update. Over the summer there will be a new floor down.”

Four teams: men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, and badminton all play on that court. All four have made the playoffs in their last season, and badminton won back-to-back championships.

While all teams here at school deserve a top of the line field, football hasn’t had a winning season since 2007. Our badminton team has won the South Coast Conference championship four years in a row. It is a shame that our teams who compete to win a championship are being subjected to outdated playing fields and courts.

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