Garrett Coliseum gets improvements, to be used for pickleball
Modifications to the arena in Garrett Coliseum include a new coat of paint and the addition of dark colors to help the line of sight indoors. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Garrett Coliseum officials announced on Thursday the arena will be the site of indoor pickleball courts in November.
Coliseum general manager Christi Thornton said on Thursday she had placed the order for the playing surface that is scheduled to arrive in October and an indoor pickleball league will be organized to start after the conclusion of the Alabama National Fair.
There will be 10 courts in the arena, featuring monthly membership or daily walk-up players. Monthly members have access to the showers that are part of the locker rooms built last summer for sporting events.
Also on Thursday, workers were preparing the North side of the coliseum between the offices and the concession stand for the installation of an elevator.
It’s all part of the changes that the Montgomery Exhibition Cooperative District, which operates the city-owned coliseum, has conducted over the past year to upgrade the 71-year-old facility.
“We just painted it,” said city councilman Charles Jinright, a founding member of the cooperative district. “(The ceiling) was nasty. It had been that way for years and hadn’t been taken care. Most new big buildings don’t really have a ceiling any more, they just black it all out. And you don’t really notice it. The same thing happened out there.
“Now the elevator comes on. We’ll get the elevator done, then we’ve got two or three things that we’ll look at doing. We just have to figure out what goes next.”
The elevator will be installed to help the facility comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as a food service elevator for the second floor concession area.
“You don’t need one on the South side because on the South side you can walk in on the second level,” Jinright noted. “Here (on the North side), you walk in on the first level. And when this (agricultural-oriented coliseum) was designed, this side was for the animals. We’ve got a copy of the original plans from Sherlock, Smith and Adams and the way this thing was designed, was all the people would come in here one way (on the South side). Now, putting in an elevator takes care of the handicapped people.”
The elevator should be completed in July, although coliseum officials are already working on plans to have admission tickets coded in order to let people sitting on the second level to enter and exit the facility through the outside ramp.
Painting the roof and installing an elevator this spring are in addition to the four locker rooms that were completed last July for sporting events, as well as two sets of security doors on the bottom floor to limit access.
Jinright said the next steps for the facility are a sound system for the arena and a sign on Federal Drive. Both are dated and need to be replaced, although Jinright said most of the people who book the facility, such as the SLE Rodeo, bring their own sound system.
“Then we’ll be done, for the time being, until we decide what’s next,” Jinright said. “Right now, the next big thing is air conditioning. We’re looking at our list of customers (who book during the summer months) and trying to determine how much it would help us if we did air condition it. We have some questions on the return of investment because there’s not that many things we can do (in the arena) in the summer months.
“And then if you do it, what will you do then? Would you have concerts? We’re not turning down a lot of stuff except for concerts. And I think that’s what we’ll try to get back into in the next year.”
Thornton is eager to book any event for the facility and would like to turn pickleball participation into a year-round event, including tournaments.
“I am racking my brain for anything and everything to bring attention to this amazing facility,” she said. “We’re wanting this to be the gem of Montgomery. I want this to be what it is, the ag center of the South and an amazing sports venue.”
Jinright said the coliseum was recently allocated $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, but he returned the money to the city in hopes of building pickleball courts at Fain Park. The coliseum’s only real use for ARPA money, he added, would be the installation of air conditioning at the facility, which would be an estimated $8-10 million.
Thornton, meanwhile, is searching for corporate sponsors for the pickleball courts. Any firm interested in providing sponsorship for the sport is encouraged to call Thornton at (334) 356-6866 or e-mail her at christi@thegarrettcoliseum.com.