How Old Is Your Gym?

Not my school, but the old Urbana High School gym had an interesting setup. Stands on only one side. Since the gym floor also served as the stage for the auditorium it appears they occasionally opened the curtains behind the benches and allowed fans to sit in the auditorium seats to watch the game.
 

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CedarBuck92 said:
Springfield Shawnee has 2 gyms. The old gym was built wit the school in ~1958 and the new gym was added on in 1975.

The old gym has a stage at one end, the bleachers come right up to the sidelines and there was a balcony for additional seating. Made for quite an environment on a packed night. Unfortunately during the current school renovation the bleachers were changed out and no longer get as close to the sidelines and the balcony was closed off. This gym has really only been used for practice and the occasional Jr. High and below game for the past 15 years. Also used for all drama presentations and most concerts for the district.

The new gym has the playing floor located in a pit with walkways and seating on both sides. The pep band section is on the Visitors side. Up until this year it still had the original floor. Unfortunately, the floor was damaged beyond repair by the construction company doing the school renovations and had to be completely replaced. Side note: the band room is located under the home stands so you can feel and hear them warming up before coming upstairs for the game.
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This is the best picture I can currently find that shows at least part of the old gym. Also a picture of the new gym before renovations and floor replacement.

b8ef9d24e6fd4a36798bf89c079ab3bc.jpg
image1 (1).jpg
 
ysuindy said:
Interesting - I had never researched the Class A tournament back in those days. South High Fieldhouse opened in December 1940. I'm not sure if there was another venue in Youngstown that could have hosted. The old Rayen gym seems like it would have been too small. The Mahoning County Class B tournament was played at Boardman until South Fieldhouse opened.

From looking at the 1957 version of the OHSAA record book, it looks like they went to the regional format for Class A in 1942 and Class B in 1943.
...
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When the library opens up fully, I'll check the microfilm for where McKinley played in
Youngstown for the early round games. It will give us some insight.

:>---

SALT
 
Skipper10 said:
View attachment 14373

Celina Fieldhouse (Dean White Court) I believe was built in 1939? Is still in use for boys and girls basketball. Capacity is around 1800. Seats are uncomfortable as hell, but when its at full capacity the crowd noise is deafening.
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One of the coolest places to play a HS game. My preference on the mid-west side of the state:
1. The Pit - Piqua, OH, it is still standing but I believe only used for youth basketball now
2. Celina Field House - Celina, OH, Above, still used today
3. The Vatican - Delphos St. Johns HS, Still used today
4. The Tub - Lima Bath HS, still used today
 
The Vatican at DSJ and the Tub at Bath are flat out great names for those venues.
I've played at some quirky gyms-Dayton Oakwood-floor below all spectators, strange. Manchester College, gym floor was the stage, theater seating below the stage. Cincinnati Gardens-horrible venue back in the late 70's, I believe was only used for HS tourney games and this was before XU began playing there.
Fortunate enough to play at the Dayton Arena for sectional/district/regional play back in the day. After 40+ years still love that place.
 
GCPRO said:
The Vatican at DSJ and the Tub at Bath are flat out great names for those venues.
I've played at some quirky gyms-Dayton Oakwood-floor below all spectators, strange. Manchester College, gym floor was the stage, theater seating below the stage. Cincinnati Gardens-horrible venue back in the late 70's, I believe was only used for HS tourney games and this was before XU began playing there.
Fortunate enough to play at the Dayton Arena for sectional/district/regional play back in the day. After 40+ years still love that place.
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Dayton Oakwood I believe was built in 1932. It is called "The Pit". It has about a 7 foot wall, all the way around the court with a 3 foot perimeter before the wall starts, it's tight. I think the floor is 2 feet short.(82 feet long) Most people (visitors) hate it, but if you played there you love it. It's still used today.
 
wildcat71 said:
Miss the old school gyms. Mogadore had what was then state of the art gym built in 1950. Low ceiling, theater seats 1st 3 rows, fans separated from court by iron railings. Stage at end with students on portable bleachers. When 3 point line was introduced you had to basically stand with your feet sideways to not step out of bounds!! You are correct all new gyms basically look alike!
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Same. Miss the old ones.

Coldwater's old gym, The Pit, I believe held 650. Opponents got 50 tickets! Going into that old gym now and its like man, I cannot believe we played in there.

The first row on one side was folding chairs. As kids we got there early enough to get those and yeah, your feet were almost on the court!


Coldwater got a new gym in 1991 I do believe.


The old, smaller gyms put tickets at a premium. You had to do season tickets or get them early. Was always tough getting tickets to Marion Local, Mendon Union. Mendon, when the 3 point line was put in, only had a few inches between the sideline and three point line!

Do the new places even get nicknamed anymore? Our old one, like so many, was The Pit. Still remember the last game there, a loss in OT.
They named the new place The Palace.

Vatican in Delphos.
Supreme Court in OG. Funny thing about OG.....when they would play Coldwater on the road it was at a diff local school as OG said the pit was too small.!
 
CedarBuck92 said:
Springfield Shawnee has 2 gyms. The old gym was built wit the school in ~1958 and the new gym was added on in 1975.

The old gym has a stage at one end, the bleachers come right up to the sidelines and there was a balcony for additional seating. Made for quite an environment on a packed night. Unfortunately during the current school renovation the bleachers were changed out and no longer get as close to the sidelines and the balcony was closed off. This gym has really only been used for practice and the occasional Jr. High and below game for the past 15 years. Also used for all drama presentations and most concerts for the district.

The new gym has the playing floor located in a pit with walkways and seating on both sides. The pep band section is on the Visitors side. Up until this year it still had the original floor. Unfortunately, the floor was damaged beyond repair by the construction company doing the school renovations and had to be completely replaced. Side note: the band room is located under the home stands so you can feel and hear them warming up before coming upstairs for the game.
Click to expand...
Been to SS a couple of times and I like the old time feel. Get up too high though you feel like the rafters are in the way!
I like how the first rows are well above the court.
Reminds me of Celina's Fieldhouse.


My personal favorite place in the Celina Fieldhouse. The first row is about 4 feet or more above the court and encompasses 3 of the 4 sides
 
GCPRO said:
The Vatican at DSJ and the Tub at Bath are flat out great names for those venues.
I've played at some quirky gyms-Dayton Oakwood-floor below all spectators, strange. Manchester College, gym floor was the stage, theater seating below the stage. Cincinnati Gardens-horrible venue back in the late 70's, I believe was only used for HS tourney games and this was before XU began playing there.
Fortunate enough to play at the Dayton Arena for sectional/district/regional play back in the day. After 40+ years still love that place.
Click to expand...
Wasnt the Gardens the host of the Cincy Royals professional team?
Only been there twice for hockey games.
 
thavoice said:
Wasnt the Gardens the host of the Cincy Royals professional team?
Only been there twice for hockey games.
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en.wikipedia.org

Cincinnati Gardens - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Cincinnati Mohawks (AHL / IHL) (1949–1958)
Xavier Musketeers (NCAA) (occasional 1949–1979, permanent 1983–2000)
Cincinnati Bearcats (NCAA) (1949–1954, 1987–1989)
Cincinnati Royals (NBA) (1957–1972)
Cincinnati Wings (CPHL) (1963–1964)
Cincinnati Swords (AHL) (1971–1974)
Cincinnati Slammers (CBA) (1984–1987)
Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL / IHL) (1990–1997)
Cincinnati Silverbacks (NPSL) (1995–1997)
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL) (1997–2005)
Cincinnati Rollergirls (WFTDA) (2006–2016)
Cincinnati Commandos (UIFL/CIFL) (2010–2012)
Cincinnati Kings (PASL) (2010–2012)
Cincinnati Thunder (NA3HL) (2015–2016)

:>---

SALT
 
The building that now is called Coffman was opened in 1973 as Dublin High School. It became Coffman when Scioto opened in 1995.
 
thavoice said:
Same. Miss the old ones.

Coldwater's old gym, The Pit, I believe held 650. Opponents got 50 tickets! Going into that old gym now and its like man, I cannot believe we played in there.

The first row on one side was folding chairs. As kids we got there early enough to get those and yeah, your feet were almost on the court!


Coldwater got a new gym in 1991 I do believe.


The old, smaller gyms put tickets at a premium. You had to do season tickets or get them early. Was always tough getting tickets to Marion Local, Mendon Union. Mendon, when the 3 point line was put in, only had a few inches between the sideline and three point line!

Do the new places even get nicknamed anymore? Our old one, like so many, was The Pit. Still remember the last game there, a loss in OT.
They named the new place The Palace.

Vatican in Delphos.
Supreme Court in OG. Funny thing about OG.....when they would play Coldwater on the road it was at a diff local school as OG said the pit was too small.!
Click to expand...

I forgot about the old Coldwater gym, yes that was called the Pit also. In high school, we would not play Marion Local at Marion Local, we played them in Celina for their home game. My Senior year, I played in the Celina Fieldhouse twice.
 
DDoubleG said:
I forgot about the old Coldwater gym, yes that was called the Pit also. In high school, we would not play Marion Local at Marion Local, we played them in Celina for their home game. My Senior year, I played in the Celina Fieldhouse twice.
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What school?

I know CW played OG at I blieve a few diff places. Ft Recovery, Celina, maybe even St Henry.

Loved the Pit, didnt take much for it to be crazy loud!
 
Here's the one I grew up with, sadly closed and a mission house now. Out of bounds was off the wall. But it was consistent as the last 25 yards of the football field was I-75. Actually, the court was shifted since I was there. The short side was by the stands and the players sat under the Macomber.
Macomber.JPG



EDIT: lol, I just noticed the pull-up bar is still back there. I went from tubby to 20 on that bar. That balcony upper right was a prime spot to get for watching. That doorway was where I was standing when some kid named after a cereal walked by.
 
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Back to Youngstown South Fieldhouse. Dedication was December 13,1940 with South hosting Massillon in the first game of a doubleheader that included Youngstown College versus Carnegie Tech in the second game. The cost was $150,000 and had 3,000 permanent seats, but they added 800 seats for the opening night.

Unfortunately the Google News Archive is missing the Vindicators from December 14 and 15. Was hoping to see the coverage of the opening.
 
First game at Fort Recovery's gym was 1975. For a couple years while it was being built, we played most of our home games at Celina Fieldhouse.
 
thavoice said:
Same. Miss the old ones.

Coldwater's old gym, The Pit, I believe held 650. Opponents got 50 tickets! Going into that old gym now and its like man, I cannot believe we played in there.

The first row on one side was folding chairs. As kids we got there early enough to get those and yeah, your feet were almost on the court!


Coldwater got a new gym in 1991 I do believe.


The old, smaller gyms put tickets at a premium. You had to do season tickets or get them early. Was always tough getting tickets to Marion Local, Mendon Union. Mendon, when the 3 point line was put in, only had a few inches between the sideline and three point line!

Do the new places even get nicknamed anymore? Our old one, like so many, was The Pit. Still remember the last game there, a loss in OT.
They named the new place The Palace.

Vatican in Delphos.
Supreme Court in OG. Funny thing about OG.....when they would play Coldwater on the road it was at a diff local school as OG said the pit was too small.!
Click to expand...
Yes Mogadore seated maybe 600 at most. Remember 1 game we all entered early at a back entrance so the visitors had maybe 20 seats!!
 
fortfan said:
Isn't that their current gym?
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That’s what I thought.

There’s some great gyms in the WBL/MAC.
St. Henry and Ft. Recovery are very similar. DSJ is classic. Everyone else seems kinda sterile

In the WBL, Celina/OG are a head above the rest of the league. Shawnee, Bath, Elida are still great. St. Marys, Wapak, VW, and Defiance are sterile. Kenton was never good.
 
DDoubleG said:
One of the coolest places to play a HS game. My preference on the mid-west side of the state:
1. The Pit - Piqua, OH, it is still standing but I believe only used for youth basketball now
2. Celina Field House - Celina, OH, Above, still used today
3. The Vatican - Delphos St. Johns HS, Still used today
4. The Tub - Lima Bath HS, still used today
Click to expand...

Any pics of the old Piqua gym? Is it in the old HS downtown? I love looking at the old football stadium(now soccer) whenever I go through there
 
Skipper10 said:
View attachment 14373

Celina Fieldhouse (Dean White Court) I believe was built in 1939? Is still in use for boys and girls basketball. Capacity is around 1800. Seats are uncomfortable as hell, but when its at full capacity the crowd noise is deafening.
Click to expand...
Love that place, dont think the seats are that bad.
With the pep band tucked away behind a basket and a full house, no better place that I have been to watch!
 
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