Attention Dan Guerrero: Fix UCLA's Football Facilities (Part 1)
As we have pointed out in numerous posts, UCLA has an outstanding history of football excellence, but since 1998, the program has fallen on hard times. The situation has become dire during the tenure of Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. In a recent Sports Illustrated article, George Dohrmann points out some of the same grim statistics we have cited elsewhere:
Neuheisel proclaimed when he arrived in 2008 that he would take Los Angeles back from USC. But the Bruins are 16--23 since then, and a program that was a Pac-10 power throughout the 1980s, has spiraled toward irrelevancy. UCLA has gone a school-record 65 weeks without appearing in the AP Top 25, failed to earn a conference title in 12 seasons and dropped 11 of 12 to the rival Trojans. Athletic director Dan Guerrero has raised the specter of yet another coaching change—the fourth in 16 seasons—if the Bruins don't land a bowl bid.
The fact that UCLA, a university synonymous with excellence and with an outstanding football history would allow its football team to languish in mediocrity for so long suggests that there are macro issues at play. UCLA Football needs to improve its facilities in order to reestablish UCLA as a top football program. Part of facilities investment is showing that the program and the administration is committed:
Why the struggles? First, consider the macro issues, including facilities that are arguably the worst in the Pac-12. Then there's the inconvenience of playing almost 30 miles from campus at the Rose Bowl: Last season the Bruins drew 60,376 fans per game but played to 66.3% of capacity, which ranked 89th in the country. Finally, there's ever-increasing apathy toward football. UCLA is often labeled a potential powerhouse because of the fertile Southern California recruiting ground, but the program has more in common with Indiana, Maryland and other schools where basketball is the priority. Look no further than the $135 million renovation under way at Pauley Pavilion and the absence of any plans to upgrade the football facilities.
Obviously, we don't agree with all of this analysis, but we do agree that the career bureaucrats need to make football a priority. The Acosta Center is a nice facility, but not on the level of some of the other facilities across the county in major BCS conferences, the Pac-12, and even non-BCS conferences.
While UCLA did renovate the Acosta Center, to include a 15,000 square foot weight room, 8,000 square feet for athletic training and rehabilitation, and the Bud Knapp Football Center, which includes the locker rooms, equipment room, and nine meeting rooms and a team meeting room, the facilities are not in the top of the conference or comparable programs. As we have demonstrated, financially, football is the most important sport for the financial health of an athletic department, and spending on football and reinvesting in the football program makes a lot of sense.
Nothing seems to symbolize the current state of UCLA football that Spaulding Field, with its crooked goalposts, and turf that can't even be used when there is a little bit of rain.
In this series, we will explore premier football facilities throughout the country, other facilities in the Pac-12, other BCS conferences, and non-BCS conferences, and make suggestions for improvements in UCLA facilities, particularly football facilities.
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Just look at what Cal did
With their stadium renovation, but more importantly, a brand-new training center right next to it. The announcers on ESPN were saying the facilities were the nicest they’ve ever seen. If Cal can do it (entirely on private donations) there’s no reason UCLA shouldn’t be able to do the same.
Cal's new SAHPC
Cal desperately needed new facilities. If you think your facilities are bad, Cal’s were ten times worse. When Tedford arrived, he quickly said that the only way Cal could be competitive in the conference and college football was if they built new facilities.
That was almost ten years ago. Football hasn’t even moved in to their new offices yet and Memorial Stadium is just now being upgraded. As much as people like to make note of the fact that the tree sitters and neighbors to Cal delayed the process, there was an equal amount of delay from having to go through the state in order to even approve the improvements (EIR, contract bids, overall design plans).
That’s just the nature of being under the umbrella of the state, and its through no fault of anyone other than Sacramento’s. Everyone realizes there’s a problem, but there’s also not a quick fix.
The state umbrella
is looking more and more like a cocktail umbrella. When they keep reducing state funding every year, how much say should they actually have in such things? It’s the epitome of hypocrisy.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
master plan?
To address long lead times, successful organizations have master plans, where is ours? Spaulding and Drake are over 40 years old, the tennis stadium over 25, etc. When the Pauley remodel “plan” was hatched, did anyone say “we should consider how to master plan all the on-campus sports facilities into a optimized sports complex”?
by BC_Bruin on Oct 19, 2011 1:44 PM PDT via iPhone app up reply actions
Stop making sense
you sound like a crazy person.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
How About This Crazy Idea
Expand the campus to the Pasadena area and keep the Rose Bowl. If UCLA is space challenged why not purchase an existing facility or purchase land and build an educational complex that would serve the community east of L.A River. A master plan would typically address space needs for an expanding student population or the limits on enrollment because the space is a problem. I can’t see the local community objecting to a prestigious school locating a campus next to the Rose Bowl.
The problem with our history of football excellence
is that the sports world is primarily concerned with recent results. I don’t necessarily agree with the “what have you done lately” mindset, but it does make sense: the players we’re recruiting today would have started kindergarten in the same year that our win streak against SUC came to an end. The current recruits wouldn’t have grown up watching many Bruins in the NFL, at least compared to what they would consider the best football schools. The most damning fact of all is that when they finally realized in high school that they had a shot at playing in college and began looking at schools, they would see a Pac 12 where UCLA is far behind Oregon, Stanford and SUC, and arguably behind OSU, ASU and Cal as well.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we can’t recruit the best players- the many natural benefits that UCLA enjoys have been well documented. However, it does mean that we’re already fighting an uphill battle when it comes to recruiting based on our recent past alone. It’s ridiculous to put the school at an even greater disadvantage by having poor facilities and by holding our coaches to unacceptably low standards.
On Campus Stadium
I wish this could be a priority. Heck, I’d be happy with UCLA conducting some research into what it would take to do this and at least show some transparancy to show the alumns, students and fans that it can or can’t be done. I just don’t buy that it’s impossible.
I agree that an on campus stadium would be amazing
But looking at it from a purely logistical standpoint, it seems pretty impossible. Just look at how bad traffic in Westwood gets on a daily basis. We would have to basically reconfigure the 405 again to create an extra onramp leading to the parking. And you know that every homeowner (influential people I might add) within a 10 mile radius is going to be up in arms over the idea of an on stadium campus. And where would we put the parking much less the stadium itself? I guess we could try to squeeze something in where Drake is, but the footprint is much too small for a full stadium.
Having an on campus stadium would be amazing, but even if UCLA spent considerable amounts on such a project I just don’t see it being feasible.
Can we stop with the lame traffic excuse?
And the can’t do Morgan Center Mindset? And the scary homeowners who would be affected for a total of 20 hours per year?
We can do better than the small-minded administration, at least by just talking about it.
And no, the footprint is not too small for a full stadium. Stanford’s stadium fits there (though we may want something slightly bigger).
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
took the words right
out of my mouth. waving the white flag before ever reaching the battle field, smh.
It's not even a battle at the moment!
We haven’t even started talking about it!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I think there's a difference between a "can't do" mindset and being realistic
Hard but accomplishable: Renovating our facilities, restoring the program to national prominence, etc.
Impossible: Free tuition for everyone.
Building a stadium on campus? – somewhere in between.
Yes, I’ll warrant that it’s not fully impossible to have an on campus stadium built, and yes, as a Muhammad Ali poster on my wall says “impossible is nothing.” I’m all for dreaming big, but I think there’s a point at which you cross over into the realm of fantasy and start detracting from more valid concerns. As they say, “pick and choose your battles”, and I think this is a battle that is so far from winnable that it’s not worth fighting.
As a mental exercise it’s great to imagine how awesome an on campus stadium would be, and I would love to see myself eating my words in the future when the plans for a new stadium are approved, but at this time I think that it’s something that’s nice to daydream about but not something to be fighting for.
Westwood NIMBYs are fighting over a proposed hotel...
I can’t imagine the fuss they’d create if a football stadium was planned.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/190/help-save-the-ucla-faculty-center/
Faculty are none too pleased about the new Faculty Center, either.
by Westwood Wizard on Oct 19, 2011 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
I think they are right on this
but not because the faculty center needs to be improved.
The hotel should be in the village to help revatilze the area restaurnants/services etc and make it vibrant again.
by silverlakebruin on Oct 19, 2011 4:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Then you can daydream
and sip on your cocktail.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
The traffic issue could be greatly mitigated...
…when the purple line gets extended to UCLA. That would have been so nice to have as a student.
At this time, however, traffic is a real issue. I remember reading that there are traffic limits that come into play with any new construction, and UCLA also has an agreement with the city regarding daily traffic flow. (See this article from 1991, though perhaps the agreement has changed since then.) I don’t know how strict the rules are—after all, development in Santa Monica and West LA (west of the 405) blew through those limits and caused a lot of the traffic issues in the area today.
I wish I could find that article, but I can’t figure out the proper search terms….
we're talking about
traffic on 5 saturdays a year. It’s also not going to be a 90k stadium…probably more like 65-70k which would definitely fit on campus.
Emergency response problems?
I know this isn’t exactly what you were replying to, but the traffic concerns might also have to do with emergency response problems, either in getting people to the medical center, or in relation to the fire station near campus. If so, even 5 Saturdays a year might be unacceptable. Even the undie run (three times per year and only blocking traffic for about 20 minutes on a single street) was unacceptable. There may be ways around this, but they’re not pretty.
In either case, there’s certainly no harm in looking into it, but it may be more of a problem than it initially seems.
There are ways around this
It’s called money.
If the Undie Run brought in millions for the school, city and surrounding businesses, it would help mitigate problems with emergency response.
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
Maybe
Money would allow the school to pay for whatever additional fire crews need to be stationed North of the school, so the fire station may not be that big of an issue.
However, the hospital is another issue. Because it’s a trauma center, it’s my understanding that Gayley is some sort of an emergency response corridor that can’t be blocked so that ambulances have access to the emergency room. It was my impression that this was some sort of local law, rather than just a balancing of interests. The only solution would be to direct traffic through other routes, which would be fairly difficult, though not impossible. The best bet might be shuttles from other parts of the cities, as mentioned below.
Anyway, my point isn’t that we shouldn’t explore the stadium, it’s that we should be wary of dismissing costs that might end up being fairly significant. When it comes to reviving our football program, having a stadium on campus is a convenience, not a necessity.
The potential economic effects would be one of the best ways to sell a campus stadium to the city.
There have to be enough benefits to the city to override the concerns of the influential local residents. There also has to be enough money to fight off the numerous lawsuits that would pop up in opposition.
This is how I feel
Especially since LA gets no benefit from a stadium in Pasadena.
And dammit, I just wanna rush the field after an amazing victory. Can’t do that until we have our own stadium.
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
Local residents
I’ve never been convinced that the local residents would be that much of a problem. I’m not sure if it’s even possible to get this type of data, but it’s always been my impression that a number of them are Bruins themselves. They also have a positive history of communication with the administration, as with the helicopter noise issues.
What about local residents that are Trojan fans.
Wouldn’t they love to oppose any attempt UCLA may make to build a new stadium?
"definitely fit on campus"
Where exactly? Seems pretty tight..
Drake, IM Field, and Charles E. Young North
A stadium should fit easily where Drake is, especially considering that it backs up to the IM field. Eliminating Charles E. Young North would also provide significant room to the north, if needed.
Not the VA, and an alternative
Before we start talking about getting rid of the VA, there’s another option that needs to be considered. Move Jackie Robinson Stadium to Drake, and build a new stadium where Jackie Robinson Stadium is now. It would kill two birds with one stone. However, I think it’s unnecessarily expensive- we’re now redoing two stadiums- and eliminates a lot of the benefits of an on campus stadium, because, you know, it’s not on campus.
The VA shouldn’t be considered an option at all. First, it’s wrong (in my opinion). Second, it’s a PR disaster. Just ask NYU what happens when universities start making self-interested moves that aren’t in the community’s best interests. Third, it’s more expensive than needed, as UCLA would have to buy the land as well as build the stadium. Fourth, as above, it eliminates a lot of the benefits of an on-campus stadium because it’s too dangerous for students/fans to walk from Westwood thanks to the on- and off-ramps. You’d still have to shuttle students to and from the game. Not to mention that people couldn’t walk around campus before and after the game.
No one should even consider UCLA taking over the VA.. Are you kidding me? Lets just play football on the graves of our nations fallen service members. I’d fly my whole VFW chapter out there to protest.
To be honest, I like the idea of building a campus stadium but I’ve also grown fond of the Rose Bowl. Take the bus across the city to see a game is a day long event for students and sometimes a pain in the ass; but nothing comes close to seeing our boys kick the dirt on that field.. just wish we could see it in the post season..
If you think
that anyone is suggesting building the stadium on the Veteran Cemetary, you are off your rocker! LOL!
No, that’s not what we’re talking about. There is a dilapidated lame golf course on VA property, and some other seemingly unused land, I think that’s what people mean.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Dilapidated golf course
I don’t know if you you saw the article in the fish wrap, however, there is currently a move under foot to remove all non VA related entities from the VA property and to build housing for the roughly 20,000 homeless vets in Los Angeles. So far three businesses have left their facilities. It seems that the original gift of land was specifically earmarked as the “Old Soldiers Home”
As for the golf course, it was built by members of Hillcrest Country Club as a thank you to the veterans. It had been closed for two years because of a federal audit brought about by embezelment. It has just reopened after a several million dollar renovation. I’ve known two vets, one who has since passed away, that loved playing on that course. I would think that there are other vets who probably feel the same way. I think we should leave that course out of the discussion.
VA land
Tons of land in the area, not sure if anyone in the area would even come close to approving its use as a stadium w/o some serious community kickbacks.
This is what cracks me up
You are most likely right.
But anyone who thinks there’s a “community” around there is delusional. That’s part of the problem in Westwood Village: a disjointed band of business owners who don’t know who they’re supposed to cater to. They’re like a bad 70’s disco band, The Village Idiots.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Brentwood home owners are 10x more NIMBY thant Westwood
Any sort of whispers of development on the VA land is shouted down immediately (with some of the previous ideas, I would agree as well).
Personally, I think the VA land should primarily be used to serve veterans, but they’re not really doing that right now. I doubt this would ever happen, but sharing some revenue with the VA could be a very good move.
by Westwood Wizard on Oct 19, 2011 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions
It's been a long time (and lots of name changes for me)
I know how the track at Drake is laid out. Is the thinking from the designers here in the BN that Sanders Field would be laid out parallel to the Drake track or perpendicular?
I have had tons of construction cases, but I have had enough to know that engineers and contractors can do some pretty amazing things with steel and concrete. Most of us know the Crapaseum and the Rose Bowel better than any other stadia, but I have been to some whose sides have been a little more vertical. I think Autzen is like that. Building vertically would obviously make a smaller footprint.
Bruins, sonce the beginning of time there have been projects which were too difficult even to imagine. One of my favorite TV shows was the HBO “From the Earth to the Moon.” The first episode started with Kennedy’s challenge in 1961 to get a man to the moon before 1970. When he said that, the United States had not yet had anyone go into space, and had only sent a few pounds into orbit. But there was a national will, and a national priority. We need to infect someone who has the Chancellor’s ear with the on-campus stadium bug. If we could put a man on the moon in those 8 years, using computers that had much less power than all of us have in our wristwatches, we surely can find someone who can get the Chancellor excited about this.
We just need the will. And we need the students to be in the front row.
I guess the question is whether we are ever going to be first class athletically, like we were in the past?
Downtown LA NFL Stadium
There hasn’t been mention of the Mausoleum being torn down if/when a new stadium is built in downtown LA for a NFL team…could the Bruins play at the new stadium? You cut the commute to only 15mi..not ideal and a tad bit closer.
by BruinBabe4ever on Oct 18, 2011 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions
Interesting idea
That extra 15 mi can be a real b sometimes (not sarcasm), and I’m sure the owners and the city would love it from all the revenue it would generate, especially since they’re trying to revitalize the downtown area.
And what player wouldn’t want to play in the shiny new LA LIVE AEG NOKIA HERBALIFE stadium.
I'd rather drive to the Rose Bowl than play in some guady NFL Stadium
You think we are having a hard time putting a good fan experience together now? Just try it in an NFL stadium with Luxury Suites etc.
No thanks!
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Not unless you move the campus so that it's next to the stadium.
We need an ON campus stadium, not a closer-than-the-Rose-Bowl stadium.
by Fox 71 on Oct 18, 2011 9:45 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Looking forward to exploring the other facilities
While it seems as though not enough can ever be said about the legendary facilities at Nike U in Oregon, I have always noticed how our facilities don’t seem to be what I would expect of a top tier program and I’m interested in seeing how other schools stack up.
Lakeland High School has a Jumbotron
thanks to a supporter who ponied up about $500K or so I’m told. It is a BIG jumbotron. It’s in an end zone, and I sat in the opposite end zone and it looked like I was watching TV.
Each of the traditional powerhouses here in the Tampa area also has an on campus stadium. In fact, the doormats have an on campus stadium. I can’t think of any college at any level that doesn’t have an on campus stadium.
Miami and Pitt are the two most notable
but they are in the very, very, very small minority.
Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I tweeted my followers to ask which I should take
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Oct 18, 2011 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Love the idea...but where is the space?
I love the idea to create better facilities, but I feel at UCLA, compared to other schools, it doesn’t have space to create top notch facilities. You would need to knock down some of those school buildings just to create space. Like for example, I checked out Michigan’s facilities and they have two full-length outdoor football practice fields, as well as, a full-length indoor football facility. Granted you don’t need an indoor facility at UCLA but just imagine trying to put in 3 full-length fields plus IM fields would be pretty challenging. We would definitely need to buy out some of those influential homeowners to get more land.
As for an on campus stadium I think a renovation of Drake Stadium to seat 50k like at Stanford would work, but in terms of a place to park and tailgate would be challenging. Would everyone just park on the IM field?
You ask the question
Why don’t you brainstorm about it a bit?
Would it really be that hard to had some levels to Lot 5, for example?
Why do we need 3 full-length fields? Right now, Spaulding is 2 fields that are 80% of the size.
And you definitely do not need to buy out any homeowners. That is a non-starter.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Add levels to Lot 5?
Interesting. I’m guessing you’re referring to parking (obviously a good idea,) but a crazy idea popped into my head: how about adding another level to put a practice field on top of the parking lot? It would fit, right? We could try Lot 8 also (assuming I still remember my lots.)
Maybe that’s too far-fetched. Or stupid, I don’t know. Makes sense to brainstorm, though.
people already shuttle
in from remote parking at the rose bowl. You could rent out parking over at the century city mall or nearby parking garage and shuttle a portion of the fans over. Also, as some mentioned, the metro line will reach UCLA at some point. There are ways to work around the traffic for 5 saturdays a year.
King J77, why is it 5 Saturdays a year for home games? Shouldn't it be 6 or even 7 or 8?
This year UCLA has 6 home games: S.J. State, Texas, Wash. State, Cal, ASU & Col. As to playing seven games at home: (1) Could UCLA have ther PAC 12 championship game at their new stadium? What is the policy for where the conference championship game is held? (2) This year we play USC at the Coliseum, couldn’t the schedule be such that instead of playing at the Coliseum UCLA would have a home game for the seventh one? Then followed, theoretically, by a PAC 12 championship game for the 8th home game.
haha
you’re right….for some reason my mind is still stuck on those old 10 game seasons. Still, I don’t see how anybody associated with UCLA can give up on finding a solution so quickly.
I also think it would be smart if UCLA kept some ties to the Rose Bowl. Maybe the games against $C could be held on what would then be a neutral site Rose Bowl. Kind of like Texas/Oklahoma. Have half the stadium for UCLA and half for $C.
Also, we’d hold the championship game at UCLA. By the way, the rules for the championship game could change depending on how things go the first few years.
I don't think space to tailgate should be an issue.
There are plenty of open fields on campus where you could set up a barbecue and some shade. It wouldn’t be tailgating by the strict definition, but it could still capture the essence.
This would be awesome
And the privilage to sit in the inverted fountain would be so much greater.
Plus, it would represent an amazing opportunity to show off the beautiful campus to friends, family, and anyone else who isn’t really a Bruin fan, but shows up to the game.
"I have something 95 percent of all those All-Stars only wish they had: a World Series ring. If I had to choose between that and being an All-Star, it would be no contest. I’d grab the gold ring and never look back." -Tim Salmon
Spaulding is the 1st facility that has to go.
The IM field would work great for a practice field. Spaulding would need renovating just to make a good IM field, and that is where our guys are asked to practice! Makes no sense.
Someone came on here with links to a company that sets up temporary stadium seating for large events. UCLA/Morgan center needs to make a commitment to hosting 1 game a season on campus. Once, they see the financial benefit of having games on campus, they will not need us to convince them that an on campus stadium needs to be built.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Wouldn't all revenue stay in house with an on-campus field?
You would think over time it would have the potential to make money or at least break even. Having the games off campus just loses too much flavor and hurts the experience for both the students and casual fan. The only conflict is that I’m a traditionalist.
I wrote "Let's Play One Game..." piece
Meant to write a follow-up, but never got around to it.
I still feel that a huge solution to giving Bruin football an infusion of energy is to play one game on campus. Just one game could get us all the benefits we need, without many of the logistical and political problems. Think about it, guys – a temporary stadium for just one game is doable, and would fire up the fan base like nothing else in recent memory.
Perhaps I’ll get around to that follow-up sometime soon….
Yes, Definitely!
In the meantime, can you put that link back up?
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Wow this looks like an amazing idea
I clicked the link as a Naysayer but halfway through reading add me as a believer. Just the thought of having a game on campus gets me excited. Imagine the atmosphere on campus. And not only that but what a great opportunity to not only fire up the student base but fire up the alumni base as well.
Cal's Memorial Stadium...
I can’t tell you how horrible Cal’s facilities were. The only thing you needed to do was hand out leather helmets to the players, because there hadn’t been any improvements since the ’20s. That said, as a student, there was no better place to play. You leave the dorms, walk up the hill, and even when Cal teams were bad (looking at you, Tom Holmoe), it was still a great place to watch a game.
I wouldn’t poo poo the NIMBY factor, both at Cal or in Westwood. At Cal, the Berkeley mayor, a former Cal football player, sued us. The tree sitters sat. And the Berkeley Hills people didn’t want any night games or well anything. It took AD Sandy Barbour to get it done, sometimes by force of will.
When i was a young reporter, I covered Westwood. It was a nightmare of NIMBY interests, developers who wanted to build the next thousand story condo unit (perhaps the cemetery would be a great place, they’d ask. The graves won’t mind) and dealing with traffic. Everything all comes back to the the impact on traffic in Westwood. That said, I remember an article, and I don’t know if it was on BN, about how there were plans for an on campus stadium, but obviously, it didn’t happen.
Lawrence Ross
Condos and hotels
are permanent. They increase traffic and cause logistical problems every day. A football stadium, only 5 or 6 Saturdays a year.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
You've never seen how politically savvy old people in Westwood and Bel Air can get...
They like silence. LOL
Lawrence Ross
Heaven forbid
we disturb their nap time on a Saturday afternoon.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
old people
haven’t we been using the old bel-air and westwood people as an excuse for over 20 years? old people die, not trying to be an a-hole but it’s just a fact of life. So how are we still using these “old neighbors” as an excuse?
Really??!!
How does UC Davis have state-of-the-art football facilities/stadium ON CAMPUS and the Bruins don’t?!!! How is that possible!!

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