360-degree stadium view: Dana Hills

(Click here for the 360-degree view of Dana Hills stadium) 

DANA POINT - Hanging from the wall behind the principal's desk is a framed photo of opening night at a rebuilt Walt Spencer Stadium. The shot is of early evening, the sun has just set, and the clouds have been digitally altered to project a perfect night at Dana Hills High.

It is a nice gesture, considering more than 25 years had passed since the stadium had been seriously renovated. But the view to the right of Robert Nye's desk, well, the image is so vivid it is a distraction. A beautiful distraction.

"You got the ocean view right there," Nye laughed. "I'm not complaining."

One step outside Nye's office and there is the stadium. The field sunken well beneath the school's surface, it has the look and feel of a bowl. And everything is blue and white. The end zones, the scoreboard, the press box, the stands, the snack bar, the gate circling the stadium, even the advertisements posted around the stadium are the Dolphins' colors.

The stadium underwent its makeover in the summer of 2005. Palm trees, flowers and shrubs were planted all around the stadium, and the playing field was shifted north to make room for two more track lanes.

Most important, a new field was installed.

Made by Sportexe, the 51-ounce field turf and two-inch rubber infill, laid over a Brock system - a Styrofoam-like substance - replaced the grass on which Dana Hills had played. San Clemente had the same turf put in two years ago. Capistrano Valley had it put in 2005. And Aliso Niguel and Tesoro got it this past summer.

"Part of why we did this is we have such limited space," Nye said. "It really provided a good space for our P.E. classes to run track and get out there and play soccer and all the sports they needed to play. It's really provided a good outlet for those kids.

"It's benefited the entire school. They can run on it 'til the cows come home and not damage it."

Dana Hills High opened in 1972.

"It was probably 1980 (when the stadium was built)," said Joe Dixon, the executive director of maintenance and operations for the Capistrano Unified School District.

Named after Walt Spencer, the school's first principal, the original stadium was funded by parents, who raised money from games of bingo on campus, according to Dixon. The Dolphins played their first game in the new 4,000-seat venue Sept. 9, 2005, a 24-0 victory against El Dorado.

"Dana Hills to me is one of the top venues in the county, if not Southern California," Dixon said.

With the ocean as a backdrop, there is a breeze flowing from the west end. Assistant principal Rocky Murray said some students hang out on the walkway overlooking the stadium on game nights. Before he headed back to his office, Murray stopped on that same walkway for one more look.

"It makes you want to play football," he said, as he walked away. "Or watch."