POLSON — In 2018 the Polson elementary school’s gymnasium was destroyed by a rigorous snowstorm that caused the roof to be demolished. But Friday marked the day that the Polson community has been waiting for - the open house of the new and improved Linderman Gymnasium.
"I am very excited and ready to get people back into this gym," maintenance director Dan Giles said.
This new gymnasium will not only be used for Polson athletic events but also physical education class for all elementary students.
"Primarily basketball, boys and girls. But also other curricular activities - voting, girls camps, boys camps during the summers" said Giles.
The Polson school district agreed on a settlement with the insurance company to fund the reconstruction of Linderman Gymnasium. This three and half years of construction was definitely no easy task.
"It was an interesting process considering we have many buildings around us that we found underneath the ground, so trying to go around that and it was a challenging project to say the least," Giles said.
Bruce Thomas, who was the head girls basketball coach and assistant for the boys team said, seeing the place he called home for over 28 years get demolished was a hard concept for him to grasp.
"It was tough because I played basketball here in the seventh grade, all the way through high school. My family, we are big basketball supporters. My sister and my cousins were cheerleaders, so this gym meant a lot to our family history," said Thomas.
However, Bruce is excited for Polson Gymnasium to begin a new story in Linderman gymnasium, which can seat over two thousand people.
"I love the way it is decorated and lots of room for fans and it will give them a chance to start making their own legends," said Thomas.
