Summary

East currently has many problems with its athletic pavilion. The gyms are dilapidated and two of the three gyms are inaccessible and do not have any seating options. There are also no scoreboards or clocks in the two less significant gyms. The floors in all the gyms and the existing bleachers in the South (main) gym all desperately need replacement. The areas behind the bleachers of the South gym on either sides do not have the necessary wall coverings or space to be useful. There are not enough locker rooms including only 1 purely girl’s locker room and the locker rooms that East does have need new lockers, new flooring (no drainage), new and more showers, more toilets, and a pathway to the athletic venues that is not completely filled by spectators during athletic events. There are no locker rooms conveniently located for softball, baseball, football, soccer, track and field, cross country, or tennis. The training room is too small and the equipment is not modern enough. The weight room has adequate size, but the padding is falling off of all the machines and the free weights are rusting. The existing athletic fields are terrible and there is not enough space for football and there is no soccer field. There are only a few insignificant bleachers at the football field, and none for any other sports. The whole athletic pavilion needs a sound system that actually works, and the lights need to be protected so that they are not struck during sporting events. Storage in the athletic pavilion is non-existent. The stands and balconies in the pool room and the corners of the wrestling room are used for storage. The trophy cases are not sensibly placed and take up way more space than needed. The concessions are at the far end of the athletic pavilion, making them inconvenient for spectators and there are no concessions for outdoor sports (the football concession area is filled with storage. The entrances for the specific sporting events are not conveniently located or sensibly utilized to make the migration of spectators in and out of the pavilion efficient. The gyms lack actual benches, as the bleachers have to be used as benches. The shotput area for the track is all gravel, and I believe it is supposed to be dirt. The aerobic room is crammed into an upstairs corner and is bookended by two classrooms that aren’t used enough and are difficult for students to get to and from. The entire indoor portion of the athletic area is poorly ventilated and is constantly very humid. In the case of inclement weather, there is really no good place for the non-indoor sports to hold a constructive practice. This could be fixed by addition of a small indoor turf facility or my making the outdoor fields turf so that they are more weather-resistant. As far as the pool area goes, the locker room to pool connections are awkwardly placed and the pool office sticks out like a sore thumb on the sides and isn’t aesthetically pleasing. There are two cramped entrances instead of just having one efficient one. There are basically no public restrooms, in fact there are only two and they are both at the far end of the pavilion. The paths to the concessions and exits for fans cross the paths to the locker rooms for the athletes, causing unnecessary interactions and logjam. Nothing in the athletic pavilion says east high and nothing is aesthetically pleasing. There is no school athletic store either.

Some positives that the athletic pavilion has make for easier renovation. The weight room is a great large area with plenty of space. There is ample space for multiple gyms, a pool, and a wrestling room. There are quite a few locker rooms and storage area, although they are not placed well enough to be utilized easily. The athletic pavilion has high enough ceilings and the infrastructure necessary to accommodate two stories. The pool room has an effective design and ample space. The athletic pavilion is a separate wing of the school, as it should be. Most areas have ample lighting. The coaches offices are well placed to look over the locker rooms. There is also an essentially athlete only hallway between the east and south gyms.

My idea for renovating the athletic pavilion is to wipe the slate clean. I believe a two-story design should be utilized making the upper floor almost exclusively for spectators and the lower level exclusively for athletes. I would rearrange the facilities to make important areas more central, to make the athletic facilities more accessible, well-placed, and surrounded with better infrastructure. The idea is to make a central area for spectators on the top floor that branches off to other wings that would have their own central areas with things such as concessions and restrooms and access to specific events. This would allow the school to restrict access to facilities not currently being used so that practices could be held and athletes could work out whilst other events were occurring elsewhere. The lower level would allow the athletes to access locker rooms, the training room, and other important areas without having to cross the spectators to get there. The lower level would be more purpose oriented while the upper level would be more show-off-y and aesthetically pleasing. The outdoor facilities would be accessed from indoors for both fans and athletes and specific sports would have their own wings with their own locker rooms, practice areas, and storage options. The centrally located pieces of the lower level would be a lounge area, the training room, and the weight room.