What’s at stake:
Fresno High School’s new gymnasium and tennis courts were unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
Fresno High senior Kai Alfa will play out his final varsity season with a shiny, new homecourt advantage.
Fresno High School held a ribbon-cutting on Thursday for its new 15,500 square-foot gymnasium. It includes team rooms, restrooms, a snack bar and eight new tennis courts next to the new facility. It was constructed by Davis Moreno Construction, Inc.
Funded through Measure M, a bond measure passed in 2020, the $13 million project broke ground two years ago. Alfa explained that he had first heard of the project in his sophomore year, and once construction began in August of 2024, students were abuzz with excitement.
“We just couldn’t wait to play in it, and being able to play my senior night in it with all my family and my teammates have their families come as well; just very, very inspirational,” Alfa said in an interview with Fresnoland.
On top of allowing the school to host official tennis tournaments, the new gym will accommodate Fresno High’s team sports, which have had to play at other schools’ facilities, even for home games.
“This is a long time coming for Fresno High; we’ve been a school without a second gym versus all the other schools,” said Principal Amy Smith.
Smith explained that the school’s single gym wasn’t enough for the school’s three boy’s and girl’s basketball teams, causing the teams to stay for practice as late as 9 p.m.
Daniel Ascanio, the school’s athletic director, said the new gym was a long time coming.
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“May these gym walls, along with the adjacent courts, experience many years of meaningful activities for all of our students, staff and community,” Ascanio said before the Thursday ceremony, “and may they also witness the best of high school athletics from our teams and coaches as they push themselves to compete at their highest level, always showing drive, determination, resilience and great sportsmanship.”
For Alfa the gym elevates not only the school, but the community, too.
“To my friends, I got to say,” Alfa said, “we better get some wins in here [and] have some fun, and to the community, I hope this helps everybody else out and helps the youth in our community come to Fresno High and experience the warrior community.”
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