New GCMS press box offers more space and less suffering from the elements | Education

GIBSON CITY — More elbow room and better acoustics are among the benefits of a new press box installed at the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley athletic and football field.

Superintendent Jeremy Darnell said it was “freezing cold or scorching hot” in the old newsroom, which served the district for more than three decades.

The new box will be equipped with heating and cooling equipment, as well as infrastructure to handle modern technology.

The people who worked in the old press box weren’t exactly hunchbacks, but in some cases they were too tight for comfort.

The replacement of the old 250 square foot newsroom spans 498 square feet.

The new box will also provide more privacy, making things more pleasant, for example, for people making the radio call who previously might have been seated next to the public announcer.

“It’s big enough for everyone to be inside,” Darnell said.

“If you want more separation, there are compartments partitioned and closed with doors.”

An additional room is also available on a fenced roof.

The press box is used for sound, media and film purposes covering football matches and athletics competitions for schools and youth.

There will be full access via a traditional staircase instead of a ladder,” Darnell said.

“It’s very accessible for people to get on and off.”

Heart Technology of Champaign was contracted to replace the sports complex’s entire audio system with directional and surround speakers for football and track and sound systems for the softball and tennis courts.

The district hired NCS Technologies, Gibson City, to provide technical assistance for the track timing system and scoreboard.

Darnell said radio and technology officials gave feedback on what amenities they thought the press box should have based on how some other press boxes are equipped.

Cost of press box: $422,500, paid from district reserve funds.