Ready, Set, Boom!

Join the crowd as we watch a once-in-a-lifetime event at the foot of J Street in Chula Vista. The long awaited implosion of the South Bay Power Plant is scheduled for Saturday, February 2, at 7 a.m. weather and winds permitting. The massive plant, 165-feet tall with an open steel framework surrounded by boilers and turbines, was built in 1958 and decommissioned in 2010. Demolition of the obsolete plant is essential toward redeveloping the Chula Vista bayfront. Strict measures have been taken to protect public safety, air and water quality, and the environment. Land and water perimeters will be in place.

In 1960, the first of the plant's four units went online. Units 2, 3, and 4 went online in 1962, 1964 and 1971 respectively. Operating at full capacity in 1981, the plant could generate 700 megawatts. By 2005, the South Bay Power Plant was operating at reduced capacity, mainly at peak times of the year. By 2010, state regulators determined that the plant was no longer needed for the regional power grid.

The actual implosion event will take fewer than two minutes and will sound like rolling thunder with reverberations. A number of small, controlled explosive charges will be placed within the structure in order to bring it down. Heavy equipment will then be used to break up the structure. The project is expected to generate about 21,000 tons of recyclable metals.

Once the site is cleared and readied, the award-winning Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan can begin. The area of the South Bay Power Plant will eventually be replaced with a public park, an RV park, an industrial business park and open buffer space.

The Master Plan will include more than 500 acres of waterfront property that includes plans for a future world-class resort and conference destination, residential, retail, and more than 240 acres of parks and nature preserve.

Salt Creek and Parkway Recreation Centers are able to boast that they have famous, world-renowned coaches and instructors in their midst! Two outstanding individuals featured here are experts in Table Tennis (ping-pong) and Judo.

**Coach Barney D. Reed has mentored Table Tennis champions for many years and claims Chula Vista resident David Flores, the 2008 Boys 15 Mexican National Champion, as one of his students. Today Coach Reed's son, Barney J. Reed, who also trained at Salt Creek, is the number two player on the USA Table Tennis Olympic and National Team and is also the Pro-Coach at Google!

**And don't even think about messing with Judo instructor Matthew Ozaki. Not only is he a sixth degree black belt certified Class A Judo teacher and coach (the highest ranking for instructors and players), but he has held the Class A rating for over ten years! Ozaki has been involved with Judo for 55 years and was a two-time US Army Champion. In addition, he has participated on the selection committee for the United States High School National Judo team.

During his tenure at Salt Creek and Parkway Recreation Centers, Ozaki has taught over 20 Jr. National Champions. These students are internationally known and compete all over the world including Switzerland, Mexico, Italy and Japan. Also under his direction, both Salt Creek and Parkway have hosted Olympic and World Champion Judo players from Japan as well as the Japan National High School team. In an effort to avoid trouble in the rough neighborhood of his youth, Ozaki credits his involvement in Judo at a local recreation center to saving his life.