WR High introduces new gymnasium

Warner Robins High School cut the ribbon to introduce its new competition gymnasium on Friday. An open house was hosted for the celebrations and tours of the Weatherspoon Gymnasium were given.

The proposal for a new gym stemmed from a basketball game Warner Robins had to play at Veterans High School.

“Several years ago, I remember Dr. Melnick and I walking into the Veterans High School gym because Warner Robins High School was having to play basketball at Veterans High School for the state playoffs, because we didn’t meet the minimum requirements,” said Warner Robins Superintendent Dr. Mark Scott. “It was a lot of people standing in line, and Dr. Melnick and I had the great pleasure of walking through the middle of that line to get in the building. So, we heard a few comments and nothing that was said to us that day was untrue. It was very understanding why people were upset about that. The fact that our teams were working really hard and representing our community so well, and that we weren’t able to provide the quality facility for those students. So, I’m so happy to be here today to show off this brand new facility. I’ve talked to a lot of community members, and not one time have I heard a negative comment about the facility, about the board of education making that a priority for our school district, (because) our student athletes deserve the very best.”

The facility is named after Elijah Weatherspoon, longtime teacher and coach in Houston County and the court honors former Warner Robins head coach, Chip Malone, who passed away in 2015.

The gym, designed by Altman + Barrett Architects and constructed by Parrish Construction Group, is 45,416 square feet and seats up to 2,130 fans.  

It was funded by the 2017-2022 Education – Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, and cost of $9.8 million. 

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