Click the video link to see a tour of the Igloo facility. And click the AUDIO button to hear our interview with Igloo Committee member Dan Flynn.
ESCANABA---The Escanaba Eskymos football program is looking to make major renovations to the “Igloo” locker room facility at the Escanaba Athletic Field.
A committee of made up of former Eskymo football coaches (and athletic directors) Dave Wilson and Dan Flynn, along with current Eskymo coach Bailey Lamb, have launched a $600,000 campaign to make improvements to the 1970's-era building.
“We call it the Igloo Project,” said Flynn, a former long time head football coach who now serves as an assistant coach and is also the Escanaba School Board President. “We want to build new locker rooms in here, And a different plan for restrooms. The ones we have here are not enough. We need a bigger, more functional restroom, which is extremely important with 17, 18 year-old boys.”
“We've had a lot of kids come through this locker room. You get to know your neighbor real well. That's why it's important to have a good facility.”
Right now, the tiny restroom has two urinals and one commode, and a small sink.
The 1973-built lockers themselves are also tiny, and are not adequate for the teenaged boys who are much bigger these days. And there's a need for improvements in the, and the medical training room where the OSF trainer takes care of the players on Game Night.
Other improvements have already been done at the football stadium, with new bleachers, relatively-new press box, and a concession building within the last decade. The City of Escanaba cuts the grass so that the field itself is in top shape.
But this project is different.
“This project is led by Bailey Lamb, Dave Wilson, and Dan Flynn,” Flynn said, stressing that it not an Escanaba Area Public School project, but is being done with its blessing. “The donations will go to the Escanaba Area Schools Igloo Project, which is a separate account, at our business office which will handle the money like we do a school building.”
So where does the $600,000 price tag come from?
“The architects and engineers have told us to prepare for $200 per square foot (for renovations),” Flynn said. “It's a 40-by-80 foot building. So the calculation is $600.000. A lot of money. That's a lot of money. But it's a project for kids. It's well worth it.”
There will be a golf outing on October 3rd to support the project. And donations are being accepted right now at the Escanaba Schools' business office. And there's more details available at www.eskymos.com. And more information will be at the team's home football games throughout the season.
“We're depending on our alumni,” Flynn said. “In a way, it's a gift. They can talk with their friends about the times they had in high school, and help us out.”
Flynn says the goal is to get the money this fall, and then have a contractor bidding process for doing the actual work. Construction in the building would happen over the winter, and the new remodeled facility would be ready to go in July of next year.
A future plan is also on the drawing board once this upgrade is finished. That project would upgrade the Eskymo varsity locker room toilets, as well as the visiting team restroom area. Weight room equipment would be upgraded, and the goal posts on the football field would be replaced. And new energy-efficient LED lights at the stadium.
But those are for the future. The project now is to take the 1973 Igloo into the modern era, replacing cramped lockers, aging plumbing, and outdated training space.
Details are at www.eskymos.com/parents/igloo.
