ALTOONA, Pa. (WJAC) – An Aug. 2 storm sent water spilling onto the basketball court inside the Steven A. Adler Athletic complex on the campus of Penn State Altoona.
The court has a floating floor design, meaning there's empty space between the foundation and floorboards.
The athletic director said flood water is now sitting in that space until the floor can be replaced.
"I've been here 24 years and have not seen that amount of water come through this part of campus," said Brent Baird, Penn State Altoona’s athletic director.
Baird said the heavy rains brought water rushing toward the athletic complex.
"It came down between some of the residence halls and cross the athletic field and came and hit the back of the Adler Athletic Complex," he said.
Mulch and dirt from the fields clogged the drain at the bottom of the step.
Baird said the water against the rear door of the complex was almost 5 feet high.
"Unfortunately, that acted as a little bit of a dam and the water built up and ended up coming into the arena and two other parts of the building," Baird said.
As water began pouring onto the gym floor, athletic department staff sprang into action.
"We had about an inch of water over just less than half of the competition floor,” Baird said. “We grabbed every towel that we have within the athletic complex, mops and squeegees and started to try to mitigate the water from going across the floor."
Baird said water made its way onto the opposite end of the court through a separate exterior door.
He said many of the floorboards warped from the water exposure and although the court was just installed in 2017 "because the floor was damaged at either end of the arena it's a complete floor replacement that we are looking at."
The complex houses classes, ceremonies and sporting events each year.
Baird said the auxiliary gymnasium will house competitive play until the floor replacement is complete.
"Scoreboards, everything is still there,” Baird said. “It is going to be an inconvenience for us but we will be able to maintain our schedules."
Baird said the athletic schedule should not be affected by the construction.
He said volleyball matches will take place in the auxiliary gymnasium for the duration of the season.
Baird expects the new floor will be installed in the Adler Athletic Complex before the beginning of basketball season.
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