As planning for the press box progresses, administration provided details on its upcoming construction. 

According to Assistant Principal Catherine Halbuer, the press box will come prefabricated, and when it is ready, administration will be notified with a ship date. Then, they will receive a construction calendar, in which the schedule for the construction will be laid out. However, while Halbuer said she hopes construction will begin around spring break, it is uncertain when the ship date will be. 

“I don’t know how long it [will take] to get shipped here because the [supply companies have] to actually get the supplies and put it together [beforehand],” Halbuer said. “Once COVID hit, a lot of places don’t stock materials anymore. We have to wait for everything along the supply chain to be constructed to be sent to be put together. [Once the press box arrives, however], the workers will do the finishing pieces in the campus, like hooking up the power.”

While the original plan was to start the prep work for the construction, like taking out the palm trees or pouring the new concrete pads, in recent days, the work was postponed. 

“[The workers] don’t want us to be inconvenienced out in the spectator area because the construction will take place there, and they want to ensure we’re impacted the least amount of time,” Halbuer said. “If we started now, there’d be a bigger [disruption].”

Principal Rick Fleming emphasized the importance of the press box for the school’s athletic programs. 

“It’s been a process, transitioning the facility over the 25-year existence that we’ve had into everything a high school should have,” Fleming said. “My biggest focus was making sure the academic side of things was added first because that’s what we [prioritize at West Shore]. However, to enrich the school environment and the culture, [we’ve strived] to have a balance between academics and athletics and activities. Now that we’ve had most of our classroom renovations completed, we’ve now begun to focus on the athletic side of things at our school.”

Fleming said that he hopes that the construction will bring the school up to par with other high schools in terms of athletic facilities.

“Three thing that our school didn’t have when I became principal was a competitive field with lights, a concession stand and a press box,” Fleming said. “We were able to accomplish our first two goals, and the process to have a press box has started. We’ve chosen a vendor, there’s a scope of work to do it, and there’s a plan of what we need to do. Now, it’s just a matter of getting it on the calendar and deciding when it is going to happen.”

By Kristen Ye