Terasaki Budokan Reaches Milestone

Two koinobori flags seemed to swim upward, as a 21-foot, 840-pound white steel beam was lifted high into the air on Friday on the site of the future Terasaki Budokan in Little Tokyo. A crowd of approximately 150 gathered below as crane operator Ricardo Alamillo guided the beam into place atop the gymnasium on Los Angeles Street, and they cheered as “We Are the Champions” by Queen played.

The “topping-off” ceremony was a chance to celebrate the fact that the construction phase on the gymnasium is past the halfway point; the facility is scheduled to open in early spring 2020. Ryan Lee, the project manager for the gymnasium, explained its significance.

published on June 19, 2019