Opening of New Gym at BHS At Least 9 Weeks Away

The Fighting Owls may get to start their basketball season in a brand new, 45,000-square-foot spectator gymnasium.

But they'll have to get ready at the former Armstrong Middle School.

District officials on Wednesday provided Patch with an update on the new gym/community center at BHS, which has faced delays most recently caused by flooding during recent storms.

“We're optimistic of having our first game on our home court which is nine weeks away,” said Superintendent David Baugh.

Facilities director Bob Moseley added that the team will have to practice at Armstrong, which was closed in 2005, because that first home game is the earliest the new facility will be ready.

“We're working very very hard,” he said. “A magic wand doesn't work.”

Ground was broken for the gym in July 2009 and district officials recently were planning a grand opening this summer. But heating/ventilation/air conditioning equipment arrived more than seven months late from Jordan, according to district officials.

Then “lots of water” got into the building last month, damaging parts of the maple basketball court and the lobby, according to district business manager Jack Myers. Some of the water, he has said, entered rooftop HVAC equipment and traveled through duct work while more came through temporary HVAC equipment that had to be installed in windows before the rooftop equipment finally arrived in late June.

Baugh said Wednesday that water is no longer getting into the building.

“Insurance adjusters are evaluating the damage now,” he added. By early next week, he said, the district should know the extent of the damage.

Myers has said the district is looking at possible litigation.

The gym project has carried an estimated price tag of $15 million, with the township providing a $2 million state grant and $2 million of its own cash. The new facility features a three-court gym with seating for 1,700 and an elevated track.