Terre Haute program gets $50000 from NBA for gym renovation – The Herald Bulletin

TERRE HAUTE A $50,000 NBA All-Star Legacy Grant to Chances and Services for Youth has jump-started a major renovation project for the gym at the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Terre Haute, where CASY makes its home.

Renovations will include refurbishing the centers gym floor, installing foam wall pads used for basketball and installing a roll up curtain that will divide the court.

Tribune-Star/Howard GreningerBrandon Halleck, chief operating officer for Chances and Services for Youth, plans to undertake $155,000 in improvements to the Booker T. Washington Community Center, spearheaded with a $50,000 NBA All-Star Legacy Grant. Halleck said CASY also has received an additional $50,000 anonymous grant. CASY hopes to raise the remainder of funds by the start of the work in August.

In addition to the NBA grant, Brandon Halleck, CASYs chief operating officer, said the organization has received an additional $50,000 from an anonymous donor. That is leading to additional improvements including new bleachers, new roof and painting, among other items.

In all, slated improvements will cost $155,000.

Halleck said he is confident he can raise the remaining $55,000 for the project prior to an anticipated August start. CASY has until February 2021, prior to the tip of the NBA All-Star 2021 game in Indianapolis, to complete the project under the grant terms.

The NBA All-Star 2021 Host Committee on Thursday awarded 21 organizations with a grant, distributing $1 million in grants up to $50,000 to 21 brick-and-mortar projects focused on health and wellness or education. The grants were distributed among 18 Indiana counties, chosen from 182 applicants statewide.

We had an overwhelmingly positive response statewide to the grant applications, Rick Fuson, founding chairman, All-Star Board of Directors and president and chief operating officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in a news release.

Narrowing the list to 21 grant recipients involved considerable review and discussion by our Legacy Committee. They had to make tough choices amongst a pool of incredibly strong and impactful grant requests, Fuson said.

Grant factors included clear project objectives, funding and budget information, identified partners, number of people served and a demonstrated need.

This grant will further expand our services in youth sports and development and help us reach our vision that every child, every age, every chance has the opportunity to grow up safe, healthy and drug-free, Halleck said.

Part of the renovation will remove five sections of wooden pull-out bleachers, replacing them with three sections of modern bleachers with a center walkway space, which makes the bleachers more accessible and safe, Halleck said. The bleachers, which will be electronically opened and closed, will have 250 to 260 seats.

It will cost $85,000 for the three sets of bleachers, Halleck said. If we need to put more bleachers in, we can address that later on.

The gyms scoreboard will be replaced and a scorers table will be added. The gym floor will be completely stripped and refurbished with new lines for basketball and pickleball, possibly with some floor mounts for volleyball nets, Halleck said.

Additionally, the gyms interior will be painted, which will cost about $7,000, Halleck said.

A center divider now at the gym is an old panel divider system, which does not remain in place, has scratched part of the gym floor and is difficult to extend with its track not fully intact. The panels were always teetering and I could envision a panel that could fall, so we stopped using it, Halleck said.

A new divider will be vinyl with a mess top and will also be electronically operated, Halleck said.

Also, Halleck said he plans to replace lights in the gym, saying the lighting system was replaced more than eight years ago with a more efficient LED system.

We are also putting a new roof on as the gym leaks, Halleck said. The roof has been leaking and will be the first thing to be done as I dont have to shut anything down for that work to start.

The plan is to begin the interior gym project in August, after the community center ends a 10-week summer camp program. Halleck said the project must be completed within one to two months due to the centers scheduling commitments.

The center, at 13th Street and College Avenue, was constructed in 1970.

The center has not really been updated since we have been here, and we came in 2008, so it is time for a renovation, Halleck said.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward.

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Terre Haute program gets $50000 from NBA for gym renovation - The Herald Bulletin