Friday, Jan. 28, 2005

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McIntosh hosts Starr’s Mill to open
long-awaited arena

The McIntosh Lady Chiefs varsity basketball team enjoys its first day of practice in the school’s new gym. The first game is scheduled for Saturday against Starr’s Mill. See story on A2. Photo/John Munford.
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By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com

Get there early if you want to get a seat. But bring your own scorecard.

A capacity crowd is expected at McIntosh High School on Saturday to see the Chiefs christen their brand-new arena against teams from crosstown rival Starr’s Mill.

“Everything is in good shape and we’re ready to go,” said McIntosh Athletic Director Marc Mickleboro Thursday. “Except we don’t have scoreboards yet.”

School officials were trying to remedy that situation before the big weekend, with temporary scoreboards borrowed from the wrestling program, Mickleboro said. At the worst, the new ones will be installed next week.

A pep rally is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today.

“That will be the first time we’ve ever been able to get the entire student body in a gym in a long time,” Mickleboro said.

The first official game played on the shiny new floor will involve the 9th Grade Boys teams, at 1:30 p.m., followed by JV boys and JV girls contests.

Tipoff for varsity girls is 6 p.m., with the boys game scheduled to start around 7:30, said Mickleboro.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students and is good all day, he said.

For McIntosh student athletes, the new 1,800-seat facility couldn’t come soon enough. It replaces the dark, crowded “gymnatorium” which served McIntosh since the school was built in 1982.

The new gym is spacious and bright and features fan seating on all four sides, a first for a Fayette County high school.

It was originally scheduled to be finished over the Christmas holiday break, but a problem delivering the bleacher sections from the manufacturer delayed the opening until nearly the end of the winter sports seasons.

Klaus Darnell, construction project supervisor for Fayette County Schools, told school board members that Peachtree City had issued just a 30-day occupancy permit on the building, which will allow the contractor a little more time to do punchlist items.

“The contractor worked all weekend and after hours to get things done,” said Darnell.

Students began attending P.E. classes in the building earlier this week, Darnell said, adding that the athletic department has about one more week to clear out of old gym before workmen begin gutting it.

Between now and the start of the next school year, it will be retrofitted into a fine arts auditorium, the final stage of a renovation and expansion program at McIntosh that’s been ongoing for nearly two years.