Gym on schedule

The athletes are not the only ones buzzing around the campus of Churchill County High School.

Construction crews are busy laying the groundwork for the newest addition at CCHS — the auxiliary gym.

Nestled between the football field, tennis courts and auditorium, the auxiliary gym will provide additional space for practices, games and events at CCHS.

Paul Ekelsdson, construction manager for Parsons, said the facility is under budget and scheduled to be completed in the spring.

“Everybody is really pleased with that,” he added. “I think it’s going to be a good addition to the school district and the community. There’s some many different type of activities … that I think another gym in town will be a benefit.”

In addition, the Churchill County School District Board of Trustees voted on Thursday to approve the second phase of the project, which includes erecting the building.

“The good news is we are under budget for the entire project,” Ekelsdson said.

Construction crews started June 22, allowing for several weeks of leveling dirt and a stabilized earth mat to protect the structure in case of seismic activity. Ekelsdson said crews also had to reroute utility lines including the electrical line from the football to the school.

“We had to disrupt a lot of utilities on campus,” he added, “and we didn’t want a lot of big dirt trucks going across the bridge with a lot of high school students trying to get to or from class.”

Since the budget is under expectations, the gym may also receive an upgrade, Ekelsdson said.

Three options are on the table including an extended parking lot and concrete, extra storage space or adding a canopy to the west entrance.

Inside, the gym will feature a full-length basketball court with a hardwood floor and a drop-down curtain to create two courts for use during P.E. classes or other activities.

With the full-length court, capacity will be about 400, Ekelsdson added.

“We put it out to bid and have three alternates to make sure we don’t bust our budget,” he explained about the three options. “We are really happy with how the numbers came in.”

Without the additional options, however, the gym includes storage room for wrestling mats and other equipment, full-sized locker rooms, coaches offices and a changing room for officials.

The restrooms, meanwhile, will have access from inside and outside the building.

“You have an interior door for inside the gym, or you can lock those doors and open up the exterior doors for football, track and things like that,” Ekelsdson said.