Gary school leaders pledged to build a new track at the West Side Leadership Academy, where the boys track team won a state championship in 2014 even though it couldn’t compete on its own pock-marked track.
The track and other athletic facilities have been casualties in the Gary Community School Corp.’s decades-long financial decline that plunged the district into state control in 2017.
On a chilly but sunny Wednesday morning, school officials and coaches and athletes gathered on the track west of the school to hear the announcement.
Lead manager Paige McNulty said work will begin next week for the spring track season.
Officials said the track’s top surface will be replaced with a new asphalt base topped by a rubber and latex running surface.
The new track announcement comes six days before the Nov. 3 general election to decide a contentious $72.1 million eight-year operating referendum for the school district.
Money for the new track will come from a $25 million school improvement fund made possible by a 2020 state law that allows the district to defer the payment of state loans to make needed repairs and do demolition.
Officials said the track was originally part of the second phase of improvements, but was moved up because of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on residents to safely exercise, and so West Side could host spring track meets.
The cost for the new track wasn’t immediately available.
An outreach survey among Gary stakeholders ranked outdoor improvements at West Side’s athletic facilities as a top priority.
A host of Gary track legends attended the press briefing including retired Roosevelt track coach John Campbell, former athletic director Earl Smith Jr., and former West Side coach Gene Johnson, who led the 2014 team to a state championship.
Olympic hurdler and former Lew Wallace track coach Rhonda Brady Anderson said she trained at the West Side track as a teen.
“This track totally changed my life. This is where I trained for the Olympic trials. I’m excited for West Side to be given a new track… Hopefully, it will continue the long legacy of track.”
Longtime coach and athletic director Earl Smith said the track will be a boost for the community.
“It will give kids the feeling of what they can accomplish,” he said.
Longtime girls coach Veronica Williams said she trained for the Olympic trials with Brady-Anderson. “My mind is blown because this track is getting fixed and we can do some things…. Now, we can get our athletes going.”
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter at the Post-Tribune.
