By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Nearly one year ago, the Barton Community College Board of Trustees approved a series of renovations at the Kirkman Center on the campus. The renovation would be paid through private dollars and would not exceed $3 million. Barton Athletic Director Trevor Rolfs updated Cougar fans on the project's progress with his appearance on 1590 KVGB/95.5 FM's "Sports Day" program Friday.
"We're just so excited about the changes that are coming and that have been made and that were so necessary," he said. "It's going to positively impact so many student athletes, the fan experience, the community - all of those who visit Barton Community College, with that facility being the front door to so much of campus life."
Fall sports are already underway at the college. The Cougar volleyball team calls the Kirkman Center home, and Barton will play the front end of its schedule on the road as Mammoth Construction finishes up the renovation with a deadline of early October.
"They've been really good about working with us, allowing the teams to still utilize the facility for practices," Rolfs said. "We're certainly hoping by (Oct. 4), everything will be far enough along, from a safety standpoint, that we can have our first home volleyball match in there on Oct. 4."
From there, the Cougars will play eight of their final nine matches of the regular season at home. Full completion of the renovation is slated for Nov. 1, ahead of the winter basketball season.
"If you've been coming to that gym regularly for the last 5, 10, or 40 years, you really won't think you're in the same building when you come in after that Nov. 1 completion date," said Rolfs.
The project officially started in 2019 but has seen delays with the COVID pandemic and fundraising issues. The project will create additional staff offices, improve the spectator experience, and fix outdated areas of the Kirkman Center. The renovation will also feature a new Hall of Fame room and Cougar Den on the south end of the gym, locker room renovations, and updated concession stands. Rolfs called it a necessary part of the school's growth.
"In 1996, which is the last time any brick-and-mortar construction was done for an athletic department side of things, was when Kirkman was instructed," he said. "At that time, we had 13 programs and like 236 student athletes. Now, we have 23 programs and more than 400 students connected with athletic programming. We ran out of space in a lot of ways."
Rolfs said the current weight room is able to accommodate all 23 programs, though it is designed to serve half that many athletes. After the indoor project is completed, college officials will look to add more space to the campus to better serve students and athletes, and to aid the school with recruiting.