In January, the first of several steps to improve the gymnasium will begin.
The improvements will include a new scoreboard, new bleachers, new chairs for the players, and new paint for the courts.
The ideas for the improvements first occured to the Sports Boosters when they noticed the lack of parent participation and attendance at most of the sports events.
So the Sports Boosters set out to find ways to raise the attendance of parents of the players and younger children.
Their first step will be to replace the scoreboard on the northern wall of the gymnasium.
The scoreboard will cost $3,800 and will be set up the first week of January.
The new scoreboard is designed to have a modern look and will be similar to the scoreboard on the south wall of the gym.
Their next step will be to replace the wooden bleachers.
The Sports Boosters did a survey about the gymnasium, and the main complaint from the survey was that the existing bleachers are “especially uncomfortable” for grandparents and parents to sit on while watching the volleyball and basketball games.
The bleachers will cost $28,000, and will have one more row than the existing ones.
Instead of having hard planks of wood for seats like the existing bleachers, the new ones will have molded plastic seats that will provide greater comfort and support.
This improvement created a domino effect, Sports Boosters’ president Abdul Esmail said.
Since the new bleachers will be larger, they will be right on the edge of the current basketball court.
Therefore, the courts on the floorboards, the basketball hoops and the volleyball pole holes will all be moved 2 feet away from their original position.
It will cost approximately $30,000 to resurface and repaint the court with the new layout and to make all of the adjustments to the basketball hoops and volleyball pole holes, Esmail said.
The bleachers will be ordered in March so that they can be installed during summer vacation. Also during summer, the floorboards will be resurfaced and painted prior to the installation of the new bleachers.
