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McLain High School’s new fieldhouse
Published 09/11/19 | Reading Time: 1 min 29 secs
By BWSTimes Staff
TULSA, Okla. — The new 12 million dollar world class McLain fieldhouse is the largest structure built on the north side of the city in quite some time, and north Tulsans, as well as McLain students and alum, are excitedly waiting for its grand opening this fall.
McLain’s athletic Director Philip Johnson described north Tulsans’ excitement about the new facility and the buzz that’s floating around town.
“The students and community are excited. They’ve waited for years to have a facility that is up to par with the rest of the city. Every time I go somewhere, from the barbershop to the grocery store and department stores, everyone is always asking me, ‘Is it ready? When is it going to be ready? I can’t wait.’ I show them a few pictures, and they say, ‘Man, that’s great. That’s cool, man. I love this! This is going to be great!’.”
Director of Athletics at McLain High School, Philip Johnson
Johnson explained, that due to limited space in previous years, some of their sports teams’ practices ended as late as 9 pm on school nights and that as many as six sports teams were forcibly practicing in the old gymnasium.
Now, as a result of the city’s 2015 bond — that aided in funding the multimillion-dollar edifice, scheduling their sports teams’ practices and other recreational activities, moving forward, will be more efficient and safe for their students.
“Now, we can service teams here. We can service teams in the old gymnasium, in the new auxiliary gym. It’s a blessing for our students,” Johnson said.
Johnson has been a part of the McLain family for ten years and counting.
Construction of the McLain High School auxiliary gym
There’s also excitement building around the new principal at McLain High School of Science and Technology. Recently, Tulsa Public Schools broke from past trends of hiring principals from outside the district for McLain HS and promoted a new principal from within. She’s an individual who grew up as a TPS student, who became a TPS teacher, a TPS assistant principal at McLain for several years, and now newly promoted principal — Renee Rabovsky.
“It’s top of the line. We have multiple goals that can go up and a wrestling room. There’s also an auxiliary gym. It’s what our kids deserve,” Principal Rabovsky said. “The new facility is a step in the right direction and shows that the district is willing to invest in McLain.”