WCAC

 

A Waltham High School student athlete has gone viral with doubts about the bleachers in the new high school, claiming the design will prevent fans from packing the gym.

Matt McDonald had a positive meeting with the superintendent to discuss the issue, but was “very disappointed” by Mayor Jeannette McCarthy’s informational response.

“An Extreme Disappointment”

In recent years, the Waltham High School boys’ varsity basketball team has made the state tournament year after year—at times filling the Doc Cohn Gym at the old high school. 

 

Led by Coach Mike Wilder, the basketball program has become a big source of Hawk pride in the community.

So you might assume that the new $374 million high school would provide plenty of seating for tournament basketball games and other sports.

But that’s not the impression incoming senior captain Matt McDonald got when he saw the bleachers fully extended, covering a significant part of the court surface. 

He learned that the bleachers could only be extended five or six rows during games.

 

“The bleachers were installed with an incredibly poor design and in the opinion of my teammates with no thought about our program, the girls’ team, wrestling or volleyball,” McDonald wrote in a letter to Waltham elected officials.

“Our old gym fit a lot more people, so this embarrassing error in this beautiful gym would result in a significant loss of community attendance for games,” he said.

McDonald requested that the bleachers be redesigned to allow more seating.

On social media, a photo of the bleachers extending over the court went viral, raising questions about the design process for the expensive school.

“It’s not what everyone was expecting for the money that was spent,” McDonald said.

Bleachers Summit

New Waltham Schools Superintendent Marisa was not in the job when the gym was designed or built—but she is the only one who would speak on the record about the bleachers.

 

To address concerns, she met with McDonald, Varsity Basketball Coach Mike Wilder and Athletics Director Steve LaForest.

“We had a good meeting and are looking at possible ways to increase seating if needed,” Mendonsa said. 

With an extra 300 seats, the capacity would be almost 900. 

 

McDonald was energized by an idea that he had proposed in his letter and came away with the impression that the superintendent understood the importance of Hawk pride.

“She wanted to pack the gym,” said the WHS senior, whose brothers Zack and Andrew were also student athletes.

Mayoral Response

Mayor Jeannette McCarthy did not meet with Matt McDonald, but instead released “Factual Information Regarding Gymnasium at New High School,” explaining the capacity of the gym and the process used to design it.

She said the gym’s primary use is for physical education, but it is also used for other school activities. 

When fully extended, the bleachers can accommodate the entire WHS student body of 1,830 students, with a total capacity of 2,199.

When partially extended, such as at games, they can accommodate 620 seated people, with an additional capacity of 1,479.

 

The mayor, shown during a WHS ribbon-cutting in late August, said that Athletics Director Steve LaForest “agreed with the architects’ recommendation, adding the coaches concur” when the design was approved.  

That meeting, in 2019, took place just as the basketball program was starting to see results. The mayor said this week that no doubts about the design were subsequently raised by athletics stakeholders.

 

As for purchasing portable bleachers, McCarthy rejected the idea “due to storage requirements.”

In the event of a big game, the mayor wrote that “There is a large open area at the end of the basketball court…where spectators could stand or sit” or chairs could be rented.

 

If a larger facility were required, McCarthy said the Madden Field House behind Kennedy Middle School, with a capacity of 4,000, “could host tournament games and could be rented.”

Still Disappointed

After reading the mayor’s response, Matt McDonald remained firm in his belief that a redesign is needed.

“I’m not looking to blame anybody,” he said. “I just wanted a good solution and I don’t feel I got one.”

 

He believes that asking fans to stand will drive them away. “Families knowing they have to stand will not attend,” he said. 

McDonald also questioned bleachers that would accommodate the entire school body.

 

“The mayor focused on the amount of students that attend our school, but there is never a time we are all in the gym together except once a year for a pep rally,” he said.

But even with the bleachers fully extended, he believes there isn’t enough space between them for all the student athletes.

“With this gym design we can’t even have a pep rally,” McDonald said.

The mayor disagreed, saying there’s sufficient room between the fully extended bleachers for 200 people and plenty of additional empty space on the northern side of the high-capacity gym.

Looking ahead, Matt McDonald worries that the matter will be “swept under the rug” by school officials.

But some optimism lingers. “I’m hoping the superintendent’s idea of purchasing portable bleachers is something that can happen quickly,” he said. 

Logo Fail?

The bleachers aren’t the only concern in the new gym. 

One of the serifs in the “W” logo at center court appears to point in the wrong direction.

 

A typical version of the logo, with all the serifs pointing to the left, appears at the new Leary Field. 

But at center court, the one on the right points right, not left. Photos of the school under construction show the logo in place months ago, meaning it wasn’t a last-minute decision.

The W logo has special meaning, designed by a former WHS student as part of a collaborative process.  

Back in 2010, two former WHS students and a current senior undertook to design a logo that could be used by all the different athletics programs, which were each using their own.

 

The three aspiring designers worked with a teacher in the school’s graphic design program, then ran the designs by athletics staff before having all high school students vote for the best one. 

The winning logo, created by designer Max Waltz (WHS 2010), features serifs that look like sleek Hawk heads. It has been used ever since on WHS Athletics apparel and signage.

 

It’s unclear why the logo in the new WHS gym is different, but school officials declined to comment on it.

File photos