By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Thompson High School’s indoor sports, such as volleyball, wrestling and basketball officially have a new home, as the Alabaster City School System held the opening ceremony for the school’s new main indoor sports facility on Aug. 23.

About an hour before the THS volleyball team took the court against the Calera Eagles for the Warriors’ first home match of the season, Thompson’s volleyball, basketball and wrestling coaches joined school system leaders and members of the city’s Board of Education to cut the ribbon on the new facility on the southwestern end of the new THS campus.

“It’s a great day for the school system to be able to dedicate our Warrior Arena: our 2,000-seat, state-of-the-art arena right before our first volleyball game in here. That’s actually our first real competition in this facility,” Alabaster School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said after the ceremony as the THS volleyball team was warming up for its first home match of the season against Calera. “We’re just so excited to have the support of a great Board of Education, the city and great city leaders. We’re also excited to have all of our coaches here to celebrate this today. This is a great day for Alabaster City Schools and Thompson High School.”

While the new THS main academic building opened to students in February, crews worked to complete Warrior Arena, Warrior Stadium and the school’s performing arts center throughout the spring and summer before ACS received the certificate of occupancy from the state on the three facilities in late summer. Currently, crews are still working to finalize the football fieldhouse and the outdoor track, baseball and softball facilities.

Warrior Arena is much larger than the indoor arena at the former THS building, and features weight and locker rooms for the volleyball, basketball and wrestling teams. The main entrance to the arena is near the corner of the school’s back parking lot, and visitors enter on the upper level of the arena.

A balcony, which houses the main concession stands, wraps around the gym floor, and spectators walk down from the top of the bleachers to reach their seats. A large, four-sided scoreboard hangs above midcourt, and the THS colors of red, white and black are used throughout.