There are still a few small items to take care of but John Thiel Gymnasium looks brand new and last night, fans got a look at the renovated space.
Thiel has a new floor and new bleachers — both of which were installed following July storm damage that curled the floor.
The District 205 School Board then decided to get new bleachers based on Health Life Safety work that needed to be completed within 10 years.
Galesburg Athletic Director Jeff Flater says he’s pleased with the new look. Flater was hoping to have the work done by the first girl’s basketball game, Wednesday — a deadline they barely missed.
“We always want things done yesterday, but I’ll tell you that these guys got as close to yesterday as they could,” Flater says. “When this all started in July, we’re sitting in a meeting like, ‘what are we going to do about our tournaments?’ and I just had no idea and I just had my head in my hands and I’m thinking my gosh, I’m not sure where we’re going with this. We weighed lot’s of different things, there was a lot of conversations that occurred, but these guys really stepped up and they met deadlines. It’s been fantastic.”
The new floor cost roughly $207,000 which has been paid for entirely with insurance money. The new bleachers came at a cost of $420,000.
