KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Austin-East Magnet High School band played, the cheerleaders cheered and the football team came onto the field as if it were a game day on Saturday.
The Roadrunners celebrated the progress on the renovations to their athletic facility used for football, soccer and track and field.
WBIR first reported in May that Austin-East began preparations to renovate the athletic facility. Part of the facility hadn't seen upgrades since 1999. The main football locker room hadn't seen upgrades since 2005.
Since then, nearly $100,000 has gone into improving the facility. The lockers have gotten new paint, the flooring has been redone, and the lighting has been improved. Some work has been done on the bathroom and shower facilities as well. There are new jerseys and equipment for the student-athletes as well.
The school also built a storage facility outside of the athletic facility to help store tackle dummies and other practice gear.
Here is an example of what the older lockers looked like.
Here is what lockers look like in this part of the facility now.
Players on the team are excited about the progress.
"It feels good to feel like we have an actual home now," Austin-East offensive and defensive lineman Quinton Calhoun said. "We can actually make this locker room our home. We are going to get in there and take care of it, treat it like our own. It really gives us a sense of responsibility."
The school still has plenty of renovating left to do. The goal back in May was to raise $1 million to get the renovations to where they wanted them to be.
