Omaha Gross’ Gymnasium Floor Suffers Damage After Accident

Omaha Gross Athletic Director Joe Blazevich is trying to look at the bright side.

But it isn’t easy when your school’s basketball court could be mistaken for a swimming pool.

“It was just a big accident,” he said. “But at least it wasn’t vandalism or anything like that.”

The accident occurred two weeks ago when students were preparing the gym for the annual homecoming dance. A pipe attached to the sprinkler system was dislodged, and water gushed out for 45 minutes before it could be shut off.

“They were working at night, so there weren’t many people here at school,” Blazevich said. “It’s hard to be mad about something that was a complete accident.”

Blazevich said students used large tables as squeegees to push the water off the gym floor. A fire truck and rescue crew also were dispatched to the scene because of an automatic sensor in the sprinkler system.

“It was a pretty exciting night,” he said. “More exciting than we wanted.”

Despite the damage to the floor, the dance went on as scheduled a few nights later. But two volleyball events, including this week’s River Cities Conference tournament, were forced to find different sites. The RCC event will be at Ralston.

Blazevich said he received three bids on a new gym floor, but was told the current surface should hold up through the basketball season. Minor repairs will be made and a new floor probably will be installed after the school season.

Until then, the Cougars’ athletic teams will try to persevere under soggy circumstances.

“We’ll do the best we can,” Blazevich said. “We’re hoping the inconvenience won’t be too bad.”