More song lyrics to quote...
I've decided that I will keep the blog going all year long including basketball season.
And since I am a huge fan of Genesis and Phil Collins, this one was easy to quote.
"Take A look at me now"
That's exactly what Benton Harbor should be saying after the recent work and updates to on of the top basketball venues in Southwest Michigan, Benton Harbor's Don Farnum Gymnasium.
Now I am one of those people that really like visiting Benton Harbor's gym, working with the St. Joe girls and boys basketball teams during the last 20 years or so, I've been a frequent visitor to Farnum Gym. It was rare that St. Joe came out on top during these past 20 years or so. I've seen some of the classic battles between the Bears and Tigers, Bart Holubar, Anthony Miller, Kim Knuth, and recently Destiney Williams, Brad Guinane, Devino Williams. These were many of the great players that I have seen working and attending these games.
But the gym was really showing its age. Like the Bear Den in St. Joe, one of the very few area gyms that still have wooden bleachers. To my knowledge, only St. Joe, and LMC are the only schools in Berrien County that still have wooden bleachers.
Benton Harbor easily has the highest seating capacity of the Berrien County schools. Despite that the new beachers will reduce the capacity by a hundred or so. The new bleachers have to comply with the ADA (Americans with disabilties act). Which mean that the new bleachers are wider between rows and less steep, which means they aren't as high. While Benton Harbor really hasn't come near to capacity recently for games, it still reduces the number of paying patrons that can find a seat.
That's one reason that St. Joseph hasn't redone the aging wooden bleachers in the Bear Den. The Bear Den underwent a renovation back in 2003 while the fieldhouse was being built, but one thing that wasn't upgraded was the bleachers. The Bears have come to capacity several times since then, usually for Lakeshore or Benton Harbor games. But the Bear Den in St. Joe holds about 1,800 comfortably. Take away a few hundred seats and at $4-$5 a head, suddenly the St. Joe schools athletic budget would take a hit. Lakeshore redid their gym about 10-15 years ago. They lost a few hundred seats. If you have tried to find a seat at a Lakeshore home basketball game against St. Joe or Benton Harbor, you would have to get there early. The bad part for St. Joe and Lakeshore is that there isn't much they can do to increase capacity. St. Joe has a fieldhouse on one side and St. Joe has a hill to deal with on the other side.
Seating capacities for Lakeshore and St. Joe will be a major topic this postseason... St. Joe will host the Girls district tournament. Lakeshore will be hosting the Boys Class B district tournament. The Class B regional tournament, which has been held at venues such as Western Michigan University or Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek... Will be held at St. Joe High School.
BTW. Here are some photos of the new Farnum Gym in Benton Harbor. (I like the Tiger pictogram in the upper deck.... NICE) (Thanks to Louis Krajecki)
