Weight room renovations underway at Puyallup High School

A new weight room is in the works at Puyallup High School.

The floor was leveled out by contractors on Friday — the first major step in renovations.

Chris Johnston, president of the PHS Vikings Football Touchdown Club, raised money this past fall to begin construction on the weight room, which is in need of some changes.

“All the people that I talked to who went to PHS in the 90s say it (uses) the same equipment,” said Johnston. “It’s rusted, it’s dilapidated, it’s outdated for student athletes.”

But the equipment isn’t the only problem, Johnston said. The floor is at a slant, and there’s no circulated air. Even the “accordion door” takes up room that could be otherwise used by students and athletes.

“It folds into the weight room and takes up probably 300 square feet,” he said. “The weight room is in bad shape.”

Now, all the capital projects to the weight room finished Friday, with help from Terry Folden from Presidential Homes in Puyallup and Lance Heck, a local contractor. That includes a new, leveled floor. The next step will be implementing new fans to circulate air, as well as new equipment.

Johnston knows many of the students at PHS because of his involvement with the football program. He’s also a member of the district’s Bond Oversight Committee, and has two sons who attend school in the district: a junior at PHS and an eighth-grader at Kalles Junior High. He’s also the owner of Sparks Firehouse Deli, right across the street from Sparks Stadium.

Normally, the Touchdown Club raises money for the PHS football team — but Johnston wanted to do something specifically for the weight room, which would benefit all students that use it.

“Some people might say it’s a football thing, but it’s not,” Johnston said. “If we could imagine what it could be — it could be so much more.”

“We decided we were going to have a fundraiser in the fall,” he added.

In September, Johnston hosted a Seahawks versus Rams viewing party and an auction, raising around $12,000. Since then, the club has continued to raise money and hopes to enlist the help of family and community members to continue the effort.

“Donations of equipment, of money, of labor or work — all (are) invited,” Johnston said. “If there is any facility that maybe has bought new equipment and not using it any longer, we’d love to take that as a donation.”

For more information or to donate, call Johnston at 253-229-2562.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Weight room renovations underway at Puyallup High School."