Renovations to Alumni Gym continued this week as work crews knocked out the south wall of the gym to begin building a new main entrance to the home of the Elon Phoenix basketball and volleyball teams.
Workers opened up the wall on Monday. “We’re about a week away from getting the exterior canopy up,” said Billy Stout, the site superintendent for Lomax Construction. “Then we’ll do the sidewalk and pavers.
Meanwhile, inside the gym, metal framing has been fastened into place as plans move forward for additional seating. The basketball court itself was sanded off earlier this month and will be repainted 8 feet, 6 inches closer to the new entrance.
Renovations in Alumni Gym, made possible by a gift from trustee Jeanne Robertson and her husband, Jerry, have been divided into two phases, with Phase I now underway and Phase II scheduled for next summer.
New theater-style seating with individual armrests will be installed in a letter “U” configuration as the gym floor is refinished. In recognition of the Robertsons’ gift, the basketball floor in the gym will be named Robertson Court.
The plan to create a new south entrance will return the gym to its original design. When the building opened in 1950, the main entrance was on the south end of the gym, including a ticket window and restrooms. The south entrance was closed when Alumni Gym underwent a major renovation in 1994 as part of the Koury Center construction.