A view of the newly-sanded and repainted gym floor at Wawasee High School. (Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE — It’s been 20 years since the main gym floor at Wawasee High School has gotten a facelift.

The Wawasee spectator gym floor recently got such a reconditioning — its first since the summer of 1998 — as sanding and painting was completed on the high school’s hardwood. The newly refurbished floor is not yet ready to be played on, but reviews have been positive so far, says WHS Athletic Director Cory Schutz.

“So far everything has been fairly smooth. The gym floor seemed to go pretty well. I think it looks really good. You can’t walk on it just yet, but from looking at it upstairs, I think it looks sharp. A few kids have seen it because they’ve been in the building, and I’ve gotten positive feedback from them and the adults that have been around,” he said.

“Everybody seems to be pleased with it.”

The gym floor isn’t the only Wawasee athletic facility to receive summer renovations, either, as the tennis courts both at the high school and at Milford Elementary School are in the process of being repaved. The asphalt has already been laid down at both, and, after it has had a full 30 days to settle, painters will be able to come in and put the finishing touches on the courts, which should feature a new, US Open-themed blue and green color scheme at the high school, in lieu of the old maroon paint job.

“Things have gone pretty well so far. I think they got started the Monday after sectionals, started tearing it up, and I think they got the asphalt down just before graduation, which was the hope so that we didn’t have trucks and equipment sitting around while everybody was coming in for graduation,” explained Schutz.

“We’re getting close. Probably within the next few days. If not this week, then maybe next week they’ll start on it, but I don’t know what their schedule looks like.”

And there are more, future renovations on tap at the high school, too.

The scheduled construction includes some work on the annex gym at Wawasee. Like the spectator gym, the annex gym will receive some refurbishments to its floor, and it will get an even more important upgrade in the form of air conditioning.

“Eventually the annex gym will be air conditioned, which will be very nice, especially in the summer time and early fall when it’s 90 degrees outside,” said Schutz.

There are also vague plans to install lights at the high school’s softball and baseball diamonds, as well as at its tennis complex, but nothing has been set yet. Schutz said the future project hasn’t gone beyond the discussion phase and that he’d be surprised if such a project were finished before the school hosts a baseball sectional tournament next spring.

“There’s been talk, but nothing to my knowledge that’s been set yet,” he said. “I don’t know where we are in that process, but hopefully we’ll be getting lights for baseball, softball and tennis at some point in the future,” he said.