Student athletes at a Wayne County school have a new facility to train and compete in.
Just about one year after the official groundbreaking ceremony, the ribbon was cut for the new gymnasium at Southern Wayne High on Wednesday.
Christopher West, the Chair of the Wayne County Board of Education, says the new facility includes four locker rooms, dressing rooms for the officials, modern concession stands, and a beechwood playing floor.
Southern Wayne Principal Kevin Smith says the project was a longtime coming, and it required a lot of work and collaboration over nearly decade.
He says the old gymnasium will continue to be used for classrooms and occasional games.
Smith says the new gym will provide extra classroom space and a boost for the psyche of the student athletes.
Leora Sam Jones is a Southern Wayne grad and she went on to compete at three Olympic Games in the 1980s and 90s.
Jones says she her stats may have been improved playing in a modern facility like the new Southern Wayne gymnasium.
Southern Wayne’s new gym cost $5.9 million to construct and includes more locker room space as well as modern ADA-compliant restrooms and bleachers.
