With a gym that's over forty years old and a growing student body, Brookland-Cayce High School is getting a new arena that could host NCAA Tournament practice sites down the road.

Brookland-Cayce Principal Gregg Morton says they are in need of a new gym.

"It's a much-needed facility as we're currently in about a 40-year-old gym. I currently can't get my student body into our current gym," explained Morton.

On top of that, they have to worry about flooding when heavy rain comes their way. Now is the start of something new.

"You will access the facility from our campus down Seventh Avenue," said Morton. “We’re getting ready to build a new basketball and volleyball sports arena. It’ll be about a 40,000 square foot facility.”

The new building is going up next door to their recently built football stadium on Knox Abbott Drive. It's being paid for through a 2014 bond referendum. The project will include locker rooms, a training room, and a weight room. It will fit 1,500 seats.

The man in charge of the $10.5 million project is Todd Sease with Jumper, Carter, Sease Architects. He says it’s time for the school to get a new gym.

"You can see the floor plan here. Large lobby space. One of the really neat things is the lobby and the hall of fame. We're kind of modeling it after Mike Krzyzewski's Duke Basketball Operations Center."

The stadium might not be used only for the school.

"There's a chance that some of the great players in college basketball may be playing on the same court."

With the new site being only two miles away from Colonial Life Arena, which is hosting a round in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Brookland-Cayce is hoping they can host one of the practice sites for the schools that will be in Columbia.

Morton believes this is a chance to showcase what Cayce has to offer.

"We know a lot of those teams coming to town use high schools as practice facilities, so we'd really love to show it off on a national scale, to be a big part of that event coming to Columbia. We want to continue that growth, and I think it gives the kids a sense of pride."

More than just using it for sports, Morton says the facility will be used by the community.

“You see a lot of great growth in Cayce right now. A lot of new housing developments, a lot of new businesses, and I think this is an addition to that. We intend to allow the community to partner with us, not only for our students but to bring the community in,” said Morton.

Construction for the project will begin this fall, and is planned to be completed by January of 2019.

 

Source:wltx.com

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