Gym Renovation Project Update

By Sean Gaines (Sophomore)

Last year, The Eagle Times said in an article that come the new school year, the gym would look completely different. Students who have walked into the gym this year will have noticed that the only change is new black vinyl going across half of the back wall.

Junior Clark Ehman, who is leading the project along with Juniors Arya Datta, Marcos Gonzalez, and Hirai Shuda, had planned on starting and finishing the vinyl resurfacing this summer. Unfortunately, around ⅕ of the way through, Ehman was injured. He fractured his hip playing baseball. “I was unable to continue work on the project,” he said.

The renovation group also ran out of black vinyl intended to go over the old mats. Both of these events created a gridlock in the progress of the project, leaving us with what students see in the gym today.

The black vinyl is the first step in the renovation team’s project. The team fundraised from local businesses and friends of the school to secure money for the vinyl.

Once the vinyl is installed, the second step will be to repaint the large paint stripe close to the ceiling. It will be redone with a line of purple on top, and a line of black on the bottom. Several new large murals will also be painted. 

The third step will be to purchase and install purple team championship banners on the walls of the gym. Each year a championship was won will be stitched onto the banners.

The fourth step will be to find a new purple scoreboard and bleacher covers. The installation of these items will mark the completion of the project.

The gym is a large part of Obama’s culture. After Obama moved into the old Peabody building, maroon accessories were never replaced with black and purple. Embarrassment from that motivated the renovators to embark on this project. “The red pads were extremely outdated and in rough condition,” Ehman said.

In these first few weeks of the school year, the group has seen great promise for the future of the project. Ehman is now completely healed and healthy from his summer injury. They also have ordered new vinyl and expect it to arrive soon. Their goal is to finish the replacement in the next couple of months, preferably before thanksgiving break.