A SPACIOUS new Jackson County Comprehensive High School gym will serve as both a physical and symbolic metamorphosis for the school once built. At least, that’s the way athletic director Jason Holcombe sees it.
“It’s going to be kind of marking of a new era for Jackson County,” Holcombe said.
Grading crews have already started carving out a spot for the lower portion of the two-story, 55,000 square-foot facility which is slated to open just before the 2013-2014 school year. Construction was approved by the Jackson County Board of Education back in February.
The new gym, which will seat approximately 1,600 fans, is the major component of the school system’s $10.4 million Panther Project, which will also include a new chorus building.
It will by far stand as the biggest addition to the JCCHS campus, which was built in the late 1980s.
“We’re extremely excited,” Holcombe said. “It’s a great opportunity. We’re very grateful to the board of education for helping us with this SPLOST and sticking with it and committing to our community and athletes.”
These plans had been in the works for a while at JCCHS. But the school system sought to bank all SPLOST money required for construction first before moving forward.
“I’m sure all the faculty and the students and parents are excited,” said Dennis Patrick, the director of administrative services for Jackson County Schools. “Personally, I’m excited because we’ve had this project on the shelf for two and a half years.”
The facility — which will be similar to that of East Jackson’s gym — will offer more than just a glossy basketball arena.
Amenities include a weight room twice the size of Jackson County’s current one, several team dressing rooms, offices for both head basketball coaches and the wrestling coach (as well as others), a full-time wrestling room, a large physical education dressing facility, a training room and two classrooms. The second floor will include a track area.
The tenants of the new gym — like John Hawley, JCCHS’s girls basketball coach — are obviously thrilled. Hawley has been at three other schools that opened new gyms and said it’s always an exciting thing.
“We’re really pumped,” he said. “It’s something we need, not just for basketball. We need it for our teaching station. We need it for our classes, daily PE classes. We’re excited about that.”
The added square footage will, at last, allow the wrestling and cheerleading programs to compete and practice on-campus, which is one of the major benefits of the new gym.
Jackson County may even host a cheerleading invitational and expand the Panther Wrestling Invitational to a southeast regional event.
Jackson County’s old gym — built when the school opened over two decades ago — will help serve the need for PE space. It will also allow for more practice space (basketball teams could practice simultaneously), office space and dressing facilities.
Construction is now taking up most of Jackson County’s main parking lot, which is closed.
Once school is back in session, the parking lot will reopen — though the size will be greatly reduced due to continued construction. Accordingly, Jackson County is working on a contingency parking plan for football season. When the building is finished, it will alter how fans enter the football stadium.
Holcombe asks that the community be patient when coming to events this season as construction moves forward.
“They’re going to have to be very patient when coming to events and plan accordingly and to always check the athletic website for parking updates and things of that nature,” he said.
Holcombe said this is very much a community project.
The hosting of large events — like a large wrestling tournament or a region basketball tournament — will only draw people into Jackson County and Jackson County businesses.
“That’s always a positive thing for restaurants and things around the high school that will just attract more money to the community,”
Holcombe said.
When finished, the new building will be an essential part of the campus’s identity, Holcombe said. He hopes to offer personalized, commemorative bricks for JCCHS supporters to purchase.The bricks would be used as part of the gym’s walkway.
Holcombe said this gym will be the marquee of the campus.
“It’s going to be the center part of what we do with a lot of different things we do … It’s something that the kids are going to be able to put their own mark on,” he said.
If you have followed this story at all in the news you'd know they are also constructing a new fine arts building too.
The community will be proud of these structures.
How about a science lab or maybe even a technology center ??
Poor decisions abound by this school board all because people at JCCHS want their school to have everything they have at EJ.