William and Fred Proctor, juniors at St. Joseph High School, said they are looking forward to playing basketball in the dome's gymnasium and working out in a new weight room.
To students and teachers, the emergency shelter goes by another name: the Myra and Clayton Johnson Family Gymnasium.
Built with money from a Federal Emergency Management Administration grant requiring at least 80 percent of interior space to be able to shelter evacuees, the vast interior is the perfect place for the high school's new volleyball and basketball court. Auxiliary rooms attached to the dome will host a number of other educational facilities.
"I can't wait until we actually get a chance to play with it," Fred said. "I think it will really help our program, considering the new weight room, the new offices, locker rooms."
The dome was slated for a June completion, but delays caused by heavy rains and a shortage of construction contractors in the Crossroads have pushed that date back, said Bill McArdle, St. Joseph High School principal.
"Nowadays, if you don't get on the concrete folks with the concrete plans, you ain't getting concrete poured until you're down the road," said Russell Grahmann, superintendent for Don Krueger Construction. "That's how busy Victoria is."
Construction is expected to be finish by late December.
McArdle said he was inspired by a similar project built by the Edna school district.
The dual-purpose structure is a win for both FEMA and the Victoria community, McArdle said.
The Clayton Johnson Family Gymnasium is an essential part of the Imagine More Capital Campaign, a wide-scale improvement project at St. Joseph High School.
The athletics and fine arts created by the school's improvement program are essential for molding students into effective, well-rounded human beings, McArdle said.
The Imagine More Capital Campaign will create space for extracurricular programs, including practice areas for athletics, journalism, art, theater arts, band, dance and choir.
"Our extracurricular activities give our students the opportunity to fully round out their education," McArdle said. "It gives them the opportunity to develop self-confidence."
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