Brooklyn Center Basketball Teams Spend Season on Road Due to Court Issue
Brooklyn Center High School coaches say their teams have been without a playable court for months — and without an end in sight. Excessive moisture damaged the court, making it unplayable, officials said.
A statement from the school said the high school court isn’t available for use because of moisture in the gym’s concrete that damaged the wood flooring.
Now, half of the court is pulled up and blocked off.
Brooklyn Center boys head coach Brandon Krona said he first learned about it in late summer.
“Our last communication from the district was that the concrete is 90 percent saturated,” Krona said. “Come to find out, there’s been mold found in the gym and under the playing surface, and possibly near the bleachers.”
Half of the Brooklyn Center gym is torn up. Krona said the floor’s looked this way for months. (Courtesy Brandon Krona)
As a result, it’s been a season on the road for the Brooklyn Center basketball teams. Coach Brandon Krona says they’ve got 26 games this season. Not one of them will be played at home.
“For them not to have a senior night, for some of the seniors who have been program kids. For some of these students to not have teacher appreciation night, and different things like that– those things matter,” Krona said.
The kids run drills in a practice gym at the school, but it’s much too small of a space to play a full game.
“We know that basketball and athletics is a short period of time, and our goal is to make sure we shape young men and women in our communities to be prepared for the real world,” Krona said.
The Brooklyn Center boys’ basketball team gathers around their coach in the practice gym for drill instructions. Krona calls the team small in numbers, but high in spirit.
District Statement
The school district did not respond to schedule an interview with CCX News. However, a release from Jan. 8 shares some details on the court repair process.
“The gym floor is currently undergoing maintenance to address a moisture issue that has damaged the wood flooring… We are working with engineering teams through our insurance company, our vendor who will replace the floor, and our construction company to determine the time and scope of the project,” the statement said.
It went on to say that those delays have impacted the school’s ability to hold events there. Practices and gym are being held in other locations.
“We take this time to address the foundational needs of the gym in order to serve our school, athletic and community programming needs for years to come,” the statement said.
Calling on the Community
But Krona feels that the community deserves to know more.
“We’re in the middle of January, without really many answers or results,” Krona said.
He said he wants to make sure the district is spending the community’s contributions on these spaces. He pointed out the nonprofit Centaur Foundation, which has helped fund trips and equipment in the past, and the historical contributions from the Adam Thielen Foundation.
“I’ve always said this: If we fail to shine, alight on our student athletes’ potential, they’ll continue to be left in the darkness. And I think the district has an obligation to make sure we continue to shine that light on our student athletes,” Krona said.
He shared that with many businesses in Brooklyn Center closing, he feels the school has a more important role now.
“If the community and our students continue to fight and push forward, we all deserve a loving home,” Krona said. “The district, right now, has the chance to be the heartbeat to our community that is falling.”
The students are practicing in another gym on school property– one that’s too small to host games.
