Harvard-Westlake’s giant new River Park sports complex is nearly ready to trade construction fencing for cleats, swimsuits and tournament crowds. The 16-acre Studio City project has two gyms, two fields, a 52-meter pool and enough amenities to make a typical school athletic facility look like it forgot to bulk up.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the $200-million complex also includes an 8,200-square-foot weight room, eight tennis courts, 11 locker rooms with projector screens, wrestling and fencing rooms, community rooms and a cafeteria with a smoothie machine. There are even 117 toilets, more than 150 security cameras and facial-recognition access for the coaches’ area.
The project is designed to serve more than Harvard-Westlake athletes. The school’s River Park overview describes six acres of public open space, walking and jogging paths, public access to athletic facilities, a clubhouse café and community programming along the Los Angeles River.
A Major Upgrade With A Long Neighborhood Backstory
River Park is replacing the former Weddington Golf & Tennis Center, a change that followed years of permits, public meetings and community opposition. Harvard-Westlake says the Los Angeles City Council approved the transformation in November 2023, after the school presented the project as a combination of private athletic facilities, public recreation and environmental improvements.
The school’s latest construction update shows the project in its finishing phase, with landscaping underway and artificial turf being installed on one of the fields. Those details match the broader picture: the heavy construction is largely giving way to planting, pathways, field surfaces and final site work.
Los Angeles City Planning identifies the River Park site at several parcels along North Whitsett Avenue and Valley Spring Lane in Studio City. The city’s project record also places the complex within the Sherman Oaks–Studio City–Toluca Lake–Cahuenga Pass planning area, underscoring how closely the development is tied to the surrounding Valley neighborhoods.
Early 2027 Is The Targeted Opening Window
Construction may be close to finished, but the complex still needs city inspections and a Certificate of Occupancy before teams can officially move in. The Los Angeles Times reports that Harvard-Westlake is targeting early 2027 for activity at the site, meaning the new gyms may not immediately host the school’s basketball teams this coming season.
The first year is expected to be something of a learning curve, with the school working out traffic patterns, tournament logistics and how to welcome visitors onto grounds that will include public-facing amenities. For Studio City, the next big reveal will not just be what River Park looks like behind the fences, but how often the community can actually use everything inside them.
