El Segundo held its State of the City at California Smash, a new pickleball and social club converted from a long-vacant warehouse, organizers and speakers said. Catherine Chen opened the program and closed the event for El Segundo Media.

The event showcased California Smash’s two-and-a-half-year conversion from a warehouse that had been zoned for storage for about 70 years into an entertainment venue, an unidentified speaker said. “We took an old warehouse that had been zoned, warehouse and storage for 70 years, and we came up with a plan with the city to convert this into an entertainment space,” the speaker said.

Organizers framed the gathering as an opportunity to bring the community together and review recent achievements and the roadmap ahead. An unidentified speaker described the event as “a chance to get everyone together and take a break and say, this is what everyone's been working on and celebrate each other.”

Speakers highlighted local economic strengths: one unidentified speaker said El Segundo’s population “is finally back to where it was in 1970,” and noted the city’s roles as a major defense economy, a life-sciences hub and an international center for the toy industry. Those remarks were presented as characterization of the city’s business mix rather than as policy commitments.

Chevron served as a sponsor for the State of the City; a Chevron representative said, “As a company, Chevron is very, very proud to be able to sponsor the El Segundo Chamber's vision to foster business growth and business development while enhancing the community through people, partnerships, and programs.”

The program included expressions of thanks to event organizers, including the El Segundo Chamber and individuals singled out by speakers. Catering was credited to South Sol. The event record contains no motions, votes or formal policy actions; remarks were informational and promotional in nature.

The event concluded with Catherine Chen signing off for El Segundo Media. The gathering will continue to serve as an annual forum for the Chamber and the city to highlight community developments and local business activity.