Over the summer, a construction team replaced the floor in Kenney Gymnasium, an overdue update to one of the most widely used facilities by students here at Uni High. The new floor is sleek and shiny, a stark contrast to the dull, slippery old floor.
Kyle Hummel, the athletic director of Uni High, explains why it was updated and about the renovation process. The previous floor was original to Kenney and over 100 years old. Normal upkeep of the floor is supposed to consist of yearly resurfacing, but it had not been resurfaced for the past 12 years, according to Coach Hummel.
Over a decade of no resurfacing contributed to the state of the previous floor. Hummel further explained that construction spanned from May to July 2025, “quicker than anticipated.” The floor had been a goal of athletic directors, Hummel explained, “Tim Bicknell [the previous athletic director] really started the conversation, and I just really took it to the next step.”
Coach Hummel said, “This is not just a gym floor, but it’s a classroom.” The space is used by PE classes as well as sporting events and has become a real safety hazard in the past years.
The old floor was slick and had “dead spots,” where a ball would bounce poorly. These spots can make unpredictable movements of the ball that confuse players. Since the gym is also an area where running and sports are common, slips raise a great concern.
Coach Hummel gave an anecdote of an athlete from another school who “had slid for a loose ball on the ground and got a splinter in their chest.” Finally, the new floor was able to be installed after years of fundings and donors.
The new floor was a large decision. Coach Hummel said, “it definitely was a group project.” Developing a new floor was an ongoing conversation with administration and people on campus. F&S (Facilities and Service) has also been contacted to “alleviate the amount of steam that gets up underneath the floor.”
Coach Hummel had talks with administrators and the PE teachers about policies with the new floor. To keep the floor looking clean, it will be resurfaced yearly. Along with this, Hummel and the administrators are enforcing rules. Some of these new policies include: that spectators of sporting events in the winter months will be seated on the upper bleachers and some entrances are now exits only to avoid damage to the floor.
“The old floor lasted over 100 years,” Hummel stated. “The floor should last well over 50 years [when properly maintained],” justifying why Uni needed policies to protect the floor. Previously, he has gotten the upper bleachers and walls painted in Kenney. For future changes to Kenney, Hummel said that most of what he can and wants to do for the building in the near future is now done.
