Alameda High School Athletic Field

CEQA (pronounced "see-kwa") stands for California Environmental Quality Act. It requires government agencies to consider the environmental impacts of proposed plans, policies, or actions before approving them. 

The goal of the CEQA process is to identify potential significant environment impacts of a project and identify ways to prevent those impacts by adjusting the project.

• Determine level of review (AUSD is at this stage)
• Prepare CEQA document
• Notice of Intent
• 30-day public review and comment period – expected late summer 2026
• School Board public hearing – expected late summer 2026
• Respond to comments
• School Board acts on CEQA document (Public Hearing) – expected fall 2026
• File Notice of Determination – expected fall 2026

• February 2026 public meeting notice to neighbors
• May 2026 public meeting notice to neighbors

Heavy use at Thompson Field has created a field that frequently floods and develops ruts and holes. Moreover, Thompson Field is not big enough to fit a regulation track. 

While the design is not yet fully developed, the proposed field will include:

• Multi-sport field
• All-weather, 400-meter track
• Discus, high-jump, pole vault, jump pits & shot-put
• 1,000-1,500 seat bleacher with ADA accessibility, announcer’s booth & PA system
• LED field lighting 
• Fencing, flagpole and scoreboard
• Storage areas
• Drinking fountains and bottle filling stations

AUSD began the CEQA process in the spring of 2026. Once that process is completed (likely in the fall of 2026), the design process will begin. Otis Elementary will be temporarily located at the site from 2026 until 2028, while their campus is renovated. Once they return to their regular campus, athletic field construction can begin.

The seismic risk at Lum Elementary School, which used to be on this site, resulted from a combination of liquifiable soils and inappropriate foundations of the existing buildings.  An athletic field will have very different construction, Any design developed for it will need to be approved by the Division of the State Architect, which also reviews seismic risk.

The Lum site is close to where students live and attend school. It can also fit regulation field sports and a regulation track, and building there will fit in the budget we have for the project.

AUSD has been considering sites for a new athletic field for more than a decade.  Staff considered several other sites, but ultimately they were not viable. Specifically:

• Building on the Alameda High School campus: This would require demolishing classroom buildings and/or other athletic facilities, such as the tennis courts and the new swim center. It also exceeded our budget for the field project.
• Building on AUSD property at Alameda Point: This is far from where students live and go to school. Because that property has existing buildings and insufficient infrastructure[SD1] [BR2] , constructing an athletic field there would exceed the project building.
• Improving Thompson Field: While the sports field itself can be improved at Thompson, there is not room for a regulation track. That means students would need to either share the Encinal track or the College of Alameda track. Both of these facilities are considerable distance from Alameda High School and, because they are shared, AHS practices would have to be in the evenings. This raises serious safety and wellness concerns.
• Improve Thompson Field and put the track and field facilities at Lum: This exceeds the project budget, as it entails building two fields.