This summer, the Wakefield High School Athletic Booster Club will expand the weight room in the athletic hallway to create the Maroon Room. This room will create a better space for athletes to train and bond, which will benefit the sports department and the community surrounding it.

The exact plan of the Maroon Room involves tearing down the wall between the weight room and storage room and placing a turf field in the middle of the weight benches. The purpose is to provide more space for the athletes to train. Athletic Director Chancey Wolfe sheds light on the plans for this new addition to the school’s athletic department.

“[We were] initially going to [have the Maroon Room] be a separate room next to the weight room with turf to push sleds, work on agility training, plyometrics, etc…” Wolfe said. “However, we are now knocking the block wall down and it will be one big space with a strip of turf down the middle. We have an architecture firm creating a drawing and plans for the project so the general contractor can execute the physical work.”

However, this is an overwhelming task, and the general contractor won’t be able to accomplish it all by themselves. Trent Wilson, the head football coach and assistant athletic director at Wakefield High School, plays a big role in the design, setup and inspiration behind the Maroon Room project. Wilson hopes that this room expansion will attract more people to the school. 

“When people are looking at our school or are thinking about transferring in as athletes, the weight room just stands out,” Wilson said. “It makes an impression on people, and that’s hopefully what the [Maroon Room] will do.”

The process for this, while seemingly simple, has a lot of steps that need to be taken to get this new training ground up and running smoothly before the next school year, which is the goal for the Maroon Room. 

“We are working with the Wake County Public School System to complete the process of a facility modification,” Wolfe said. “It will require a general contractor, electrician and an HVAC professional.”

With all this said, the long process will leave an immense impact on the Wakefield athletic community. From providing a larger space for athletes to work out to making pre-season training for sports teams easier, the Maroon Room will no doubt leave a lasting legacy. 

When basketball or volleyball is in season, for example, other teams are forced to practice outside, in sometimes unfavorable conditions. Sophomore Bailey Chapman, who is currently in Weight Training II and is a goalie on the varsity soccer team, believes that the Maroon Room will benefit the athletic department greatly.

“I think that the room will bring a better environment for a lot of teams,” Chapman said.  “It gives us an extra place for a lot of teams to play so it will help us a lot.”

With this extra space comes the ability for Wakefield’s sports teams to develop skills they may otherwise not be able to perform outside because of weather constraints. Former athletic booster club president Mike Davis believes this will give Wakefield an edge over the competition. 

“It’s going to bring a little bit more autonomy to get quality workouts in when an outdoor sport may not have favorable weather,” Davis said. “Major division one college sports have indoor rooms that are protected from the heat, and protected from rain. With [the Maroon Room], they can go in and do just about everything they need to do for their sport.”

The Maroon Room hopes to open in August, providing more space to train in specific sports for the following school year. The Athletic Booster Club hopes this new space will fuel greater success and greater investment in Wakefield’s sports and its teams, helping not only the athletes but the communal aspect of Wakefield itself.

“We know that Wakefield is a nice community and [that] it’s got good sports and good sports teams,” Davis said. “Having additional quality facilities just adds to the current allure of Wakefield.”