Last week, Agua Fria High School District and partners McCarthy Building Companies and BWS Architects completed the design and construction of the new gymnasium at Millennium High School, affectionately called the “Rise and Roar Center.” 

The new $16.25 million project that includes a 45,000-square-foot multipurpose facility, located at 14802 W. Wigwam Blvd. in Goodyear, features three full courts with fixed seating and a tunnel to the main court for athletes to enter and exit the locker rooms. 

Retractable seating is stationed along the sidelines of the outside courts with the ability to expand to the main court, providing a total capacity of 2,432 seats. 

“The Rise and Roar Center will be a gathering place for all students. We are excited to have a state-of-the-art facility that allows the entire school to gather all our students together for school functions and pep assemblies. This new space offers a central location to celebrate academic accomplishments, a beautiful venue to showcase our choir, band and artists, a facility where our athletes can practice, and a classroom for our physical education classes,” said Principal Todd Stevens. 

“The Center will be a point of pride and a special place for our students and the greater community. When the school is not utilizing the facility, our community is welcome to rent it for things like indoor recreation sports, summer youth camps, homeowners association meetings, art shows and more. The options are endless. We are grateful to local voters for investing in education by supporting the 2019 bond, which funded these improvements.” 

The new gymnasium was built on the site of the freshman softball field, which McCarthy relocated and updated on campus. As for the previous auxiliary gymnasium, McCarthy transformed the building and it now hosts classroom spaces, which include a band room, a choir room, guitar/keyboard room and a new dance studio. 

These new classroom spaces, as well as those in the new gymnasium, such as the weight room, provide additional usable spaces for students. “The remodel demolition and insulation project scopes were self-performed by the McCarthy team due to the market’s current trade labor challenges, which provided the project cost savings and shored up potential industry setbacks,” said Tyler Shupe, project director for McCarthy’s Education Services Group. 

“The relationship with the Millennium staff, district personnel and our partners at BWS provided for a seamless project, and it shows in the quality of the Center.” 

While not part of the original scope, McCarthy’s Education Services team also provided upgrades to the high school’s performing arts center at no additional cost to the district. These upgrades include a new stage floor, a modernized control booth, enhanced sound control, and new light fixtures. The entire project was completed on budget in only 14 months. 

Major trade partners included Stone Cold Masonry, GrayWolf, Pete King Construction, Mark’s Valley Grading, K2 Electric, McCarthy Plumbing, Comfort Systems USA Southwest and LR Cowan Concrete