The Wright City R-II School Board heard a motion to approve the third-party estimating services contract for the new high school performance center, as presented by Everest.

The motion was offered and passed by a unanimous 6-0 vote after the board was presented with updated plans by Principal and Project Manager Erik Wilson of Bond Architects at its September meeting. Board secretary David Mikus and board member Heidi Halleman were absent from the meeting.

Wilson stated that the current blueprint for the performance center is the “sixth or seventh version” and will hold, at capacity, 1,750, which is an increase of 350 over the capacity at the old high school gym.

“We’ve been hard at work redesigning,” Wilson said. “We’re ready to go. It’s the same space, the same square footage; there has just been (a redesign). We’ve made some changes as far as the locker room, and even the gym (floor direction) has rotated. This gives more space than what you have currently in anticipation of growth. We’ve gone round and round trying to get it just right as far as the function of the space.”

Board member Kyle Lewis asked Principal Dr. Jason Theodorakos about where the planned capacity of the performance center compares to other schools in the area.

Theodorakos said that the new performance center, which received extensive input from the school’s various coaches, will be on par with many of the larger schools in the area.

“Most of the GAC (Gateway Athletic Conference) schools have (a capacity) of 1,500-1,800,” Theodorakos answered. “I don’t think we saw anything about 2,000. Orchard Farm was a (comparable) we looked at, and they have 1,700 (seating capacity).”

The money for the estimating services contract, which comes to $8,278, comes from a bond issue, Prop G, and will be used to finish construction of the multi-use gymnasium, a large space for the school’s trainer, stands, locker room facilities, a concession stand, additional restrooms and a multi-use classroom/meeting room, among other facets.

Wilson added that the locker room and concession stand will have direct access from both the interior and exterior of the building.

“The multi-use classroom right up by the concession stand will get utilization during the day,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations Matt Abernathy said. “There is discussion about using that space for a spirit wear store during events.”

While there is no exact timetable for completion of the performance center, Wilson said that with the plans cemented, his company aims to get to work in short order.

“We’d like to get this going and roll it out as soon as possible,” Wilson said.