The building layout for the new Events Center has been recently updated, making it a step closer to the final blueprint. The center will contain a gym and performing arts center, along with related facilities.

The design team, including Executive Director of Advancement Joe Rosenthal, Head of School Chris Nikoloff, architecture teacher David Takamoto, and Facility Manager Mike Bassoni, is still in the process of converting the conceptual design into a working drawing. Although the components of the new building have yet to be finalized, the team has created a tentative layout with key features of interest.

“It’s not always going to be an academic strength that [students] need,” Rosenthal said. “But they also have to be able to know how to do work as a team and collaborate with one another, to be able to be creative, to be able to communicate, to be able to work together and enjoy the experience while they’re doing it.”

The performing arts center will have a larger stage and will likely seat just under 500 people. Technical theater additions will involve improved lighting and sound controls and a fly space to hoist set components to their desired locations. Furthermore, auxiliary rooms could include a scene shop for set assembly, a green room for musical theater, an orchestra room, practice rooms, an instrument storage room, and a multipurpose room for all performers.

“Right now we only have the Mexican Heritage theater to perform, and the rehearsal rooms are just not adequate at all,” Cantilena member Tiffany Zhu (10) said. “The events center will really help us performing arts people do what we have to do.”

Performing Arts Director Laura Lang-Ree agreed about the insufficiency of the current facilities, highlighting the need for larger and better practice and performance spaces.

“We’ve been able to piece together this incredible, award-winning program with amazing teachers and great students in horrible conditions,” Lang-Ree said. “So the events center means everything to us. Literally everything to us. We have been creating magic in a barn.”

Gallery • 5 Photos

Conceptual images show what the Events Center may look like from different angles. The new building will be located where Rosenthal field currently is.

The new gymnasium will have one main court and two regulation-sized cross courts in the space taken up by the collapsible bleachers. The building will also have locker rooms, team rooms, and a training room.

“It does a lot, not only for the athletic teams and their ability to become more competitive having a quality facility, but also what it does is bring the community together and the support the community brings to the athletic department,” Athletics Director Dan Molin said. “I mean look at our pool, our field and what’s it’s done to our soccer, football, lacrosse programs, and what’s it’s done to our aquatics programs.”

To accommodate for the new facilities, construction will extend beyond Rosenthal field.

“Some of the main goals of the master site plan is to preserve as much open space and to be able to put the features and the function together as much as possible to provide an ultimate functionality for the students to create an ease and good flow,” Rosenthal said.

The parking lot between the Main Office and Rosenthal Field will be replaced with grass to maintain as much greenery as possible. The parking lot will instead extend behind the new building near the wall by the highway.

Having a quality gym and theater on the upper school campus is also more secure than using the ones on the middle school campus since Harker leases those facilities.

“The attention is all on the product, but really the focus in my opinion right now should be rallying the community to get the best possible building built,” Instrumental Music Director Chris Florio said. “The better we focus on that right now, the better the chance we have of having the place we hope and need.”

At the earliest, with sufficient funding, building will begin at the end of this school year and will be completed by the 2016-2017 school year.

“It doesn’t really matter as much that I don’t see it, as long as people after us will be able to enjoy it,” junior Justin Su said. “I think that’s perfectly fine for me.”

The committee expects construction to cost around $30 million. The school had already generated $5 million before the Rothschild challenge, which offers to match $10 million in donations, was issued. Rosenthal hopes that if Harker can meet the challenge and raise $25 million by the Family Picnic on Sunday, Oct. 12, the additional money will not be too difficult to raise.