New, larger gym among several planned, ongoing improvements at Murray County High School

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, April 5, 2023

CHATSWORTH — Students and fans packed the stands in the gym at Murray County High School nearly an hour before the girls basketball team took the floor for its Class 2A Elite 8 game in February.

By the time the game tipped off the rail that lines the walking area above the bleachers was filled with standing spectators.

When a new gymnasium is completed it will come with an increased capacity for fans to fill during future playoff runs by the high school’s basketball, wrestling and volleyball teams.

As part of a phased plan to renovate the school, those Indians athletics teams will be featured in an 1,800-seat gym in 2024.

The current gym holds about 1,100, “and that’s when it’s packed,” said Murray County High Principal Andrea Morrow. “On the administrative side of things, we’re definitely looking forward to having a little more space.”

Construction is set to begin soon on the new gym, which will be next to the current gym, to the left of the current school building if viewed from Green Road. Student parking has already temporarily moved across Old Dalton Ellijay Road as underground work begins on the site.

“We needed to start earlier to repair some of the drainage, sewage and electrical before they could actually start on construction of the gym,” Morrow said.

The 18-month project is expected to be ready for the 2024-25 school year.

“Kids always like something new. They’re always excited,” said Murray County High Athletics Director Blake Lawson. “Our baseball field got redone a few years ago and they were excited. It’s nice for them to not only compete in that but to look around the surrounding areas and know that they have standards that are as good as everyone else’s in the area.”

The current gym opened in 1989 when the current high school building was completed.

Morrow, who took over as principal after Gina Linder retired last year, is excited for the faculty members and the students to get to use the gym once it’s finished.

“When you have something shiny and new like that the students want to take pride in it,” she said. “That’s something they can take pride to have in their school.”

The gym is the first in a series of planned renovations to the high school and joins a few other recent and in-progress projects around the campus that are refreshing the school.

At the high school building, the front entrance, along with the front office and counseling offices, are planned to receive renovations in the coming years.

“Eventually the plan is, with all the phases, to restructure a lot of how it is laid out and bring upgrades to the classrooms,” Morrow said.

Across Green Road at the school’s football stadium and practice fields work is ongoing on a new track around one of the practice fields. The school has been unable to host track events in recent years. The $2.217 million project was approved in December 2021.

Work on the track is expected to wrap up by the end of this school year, Lawson said.

The football field received new home bleachers and a press box in time for the 2019 football season.

A new building with a concession stand and restrooms is planned, and work is underway to clear the site for construction.

“The increase in costs has also been a factor in these projects,” Morrow said. “We’re waiting on board approval to move forward with (the) concession stand.”

Lawson said having complete and competitive athletics facilities is vital to the student-athletes, present and future, of Murray County High.

“We want them to have the very best that we can give them,” Lawson said.