On the first floor, light shines through the center's floor-to-ceiling windows on brand-new Cybex weight stations, treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical trainers. In the basement, three out of the center's original five racquetball courts were combined to form a multipurpose room, where people can do yoga or Pilates or play basketball, badminton and table tennis. New stands and lighting have been installed for the tennis courts. Ikebana, Japanese flower arrangements, are showcased in every corner.

"My eyes just brightened when I walked into the sports center," said Cupertino Councilwoman Kris Wang. "The more you walk in, the more surprises you get."

And the features are meant to surprise those of all ages.

Parents can save the trouble of finding a babysitter while they are working out, because the sports center offers a child-watch program for children ages 6 months to 10 years old. The sports center also houses the city's first-ever teen center, where the teens can play video games, work on school projects or just chill out. The facility is also accessible to disabled people.

"This sports center is so much better than the old one," said Cupertino Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval after touring the facility on its grand opening day, Jan. 10. "It used to be a dungeon. The walls were black and the center was dark even during the day."

It took a lawsuit and a lot of hard work to transform that 28-year-old "dungeon" into an inviting facility.

The sports center was originally a private club, which boasted 17 tennis courts, a bar and a restaurant. In 1990, the city purchased the facility from the failing De Anza Racquet Club for $7.9 million. A private contractor ran the center for the city from 1992 until the city took over in May 1994.

The sports center had a steady flow of hundreds of members, but most of them joined simply to use the tennis courts. A few tables and a bar occupied the first floor. "It was basically used as a waiting area for tennis players," said Grant Gower, President of the Cupertino Tennis Club.

While the sports center had trouble attracting residents, it was also not accessible to disabled people.

Since 1994, Cupertino resident Donald Bearden had pushed the city to remodel the center to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Although the city installed ramps and a portable lift to make the center's swimming pool disabled-friendly, Bearden argued not all areas were accessible to people like him, a paraplegic.

In 1999, Bearden sued the city for violating his civil rights. He also sought a court order to require the center to meet the disabilities act.

Bearden won, but the facility needed more than a few ramps to make it an attractive place.

"The old sports center was a very deficient facility," said Don McCarthy, supervisor of parks and recreation.

According to McCarthy, the old sports center had much unused space. Space was wasted on hundreds of lockers and a restaurant and bar area. Parts of the building were taken up by rarely used racquetball courts. The aerobics and weight rooms had ceilings too low to accommodate their purposes.

The city estimated the building would need more than $800,000 worth of upgrades of the heating and air conditioning system and the mandated improvements that would bring it up to ADA and seismic-safety standards. It would cost the city an additional $1.3 million to remodel and expand the facility to give it an efficient and usable layout.

The city considered demolishing the old building and constructing a new one but ended up renovating and expanding the center.

The project, which started last June, only cost $2.4 million and was five months ahead of schedule.

At its grand opening, approximately 200 people showed up and tried out the facility. Two women in shorts and tank tops danced with the upbeat aerobics instructor. Some tried out the various fitness equipment while personal trainers helped them adjust the equipment and answered their questions.

Among the new sports center's various facilities, the 1,800-square-foot teen center seemed to attract the biggest crowd.

Some played pool, foosball and air hockey. Some teens sat in front of a 35-inch flat-screen television watching the movie The Bourne Identity, while some others surfed the Internet on five brand-new Dell computers with high-speed Internet access.

"Kids always complain they have no place to go in Cupertino after school. It won't be like that anymore," said teen commission chairwoman Danh Trang, a junior at Monta Vista High School.

Trang said the teen center will host air hockey and pool tournaments in February and March. Bands will also perform at the center. The center is open to teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18.

Resident Jay Cena said his 7-year-old son, Justin, looks forward to joining the teen center, after Cena told him about the facility.

"My son said he couldn't wait to be a teen," Cena, 45, said.

For more information about the programs at the Cupertino Sports Center, call 408.777.3160.

For more information about the Cupertino Teen Center, call 408.777.1335.