Officials with the Owensboro Sportscenter showed off a handful of renovations to the facility Friday, while construction on a major parking lot redesign also officially began.
Renovations were made to the stage, the hospitality room, a pair of restrooms and the roof, while the walls in the arena also got fresh paint.
Laura Alexander, general manager for Spectra, said around $95,000 was spent on renovating the restrooms and purchasing a mobile stage for events. The City of Owensboro covered the costs for the parking lot project and new roof.
The stage that had been a part of the Sportscenter for decades was taken apart and removed, giving the arena a much-need extra 50-by-25-foot space, Alexander said.
The previous stage was not ADA-compliant, nor was it big enough for certain events, she said. For larger shows, the Sportscenter would have to add to the stage, creating a lift that made artists nervous because of a tripping hazard.
“Now we can do a portable stage with a ramp,” Alexander said. “It can be whatever size you want. And a lot of events don’t need a stage. Removing the old stage gives us opportunities to do a lot of different things in that space without posing a barrier.”
The Sportscenter will use the same staging that’s used at the Owensboro Convention Center and is put together using 4-by-8-foot sections.
After two years of closing off the Gate 4 restrooms to the public, the new ones feature touchless sinks, new counters, ADA-accessible toilets, fresh paint and newly installed doors.
The “Pepto Pink” walls in the women’s restroom were repainted, while the “trough system” in the men’s restroom is gone. The previous men’s restroom didn’t even have a door for the toilet, Alexander said.
The Sportscenter’s hospitality room was completed last summer and features new flooring, freshly painted walls and an updated look.
Alexander said the arena also received a fresh coat of paint on both the upper and lower levels, and the flooring had been freshly waxed and sealed.
Alexander said a new roof was installed on top of the previous one. Previously, rainwater would leak through the old roof and run down the bleachers and onto the basketball court, hallways and even the stage.
“With a 71-year-old building, you’re going to have some issues like that,” Alexander said.
Though construction on the parking lot began, Alexander said the entire project should be completed by mid-to-late August. Between the Sportscenter and Edge Ice Center, 178 parking spaces will be added, bringing the total number of spots from 782 to 960.
Aisles between parking spots and the entrances to the lot will be widened. Instead of being angled, the parking spots will be straight. New landscaping will also be installed throughout the parking lot.
