Fire-Damaged Reynolds Coliseum Not Quite Ready For Students

Adeola Kosoko, a player on the N.C. State's women's volleyball team, cannot wait until cleanup is complete on Reynolds Coliseum.

An electrical fire destroyed two classrooms and caused smoke damage throughout the entire building in May. Cleanup costs total to about $900,000. While crews have been busy repairing the water and smoke damage, Kosoko and her teammates have been practicing at Carmichael Gymnasium.

"Reynolds just has so much history," Kosoko says. The historic building is one of the main reasons she chose to come to N.C. State.

"The echo, the noise -- it's a great place to play," she says.

But it has been work, not play, at the historic landmark for the past three months. Crews have been working non-stop replacing lights, walls and floors.

Offices and halls that had smoke and water damage are now ready again for use. There are new ceilings and a bright new coat of Wolfpack red paint.

Some staff members have already moved back into the facility, but classrooms where the fire started will not be ready until mid-September. Students that were supposed to use those rooms will have classes in a different part of campus.

It was the university's decision to extend the deadline.

"The two classrooms directly affected by the fire could have been done by the beginning of semester, but we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to modernize the rooms with central air and updated data lines," said Keith Nichols, Director of News and Communication at N.C. State.

Workers also continue finish replacing the gymnasium floor. Putting in the new floor was part of the summer plan before the fire. Cleaning up from the flames delayed the work.

There are now some new features in the coliseum as a result of the fire that Asoko and her team are pretty excited about. New bleachers will make more room for multiple volleyball nets. There is also new and improved lighting up top.

It is now scheduled to be complete at the end of August -- just in time for a volleyball competition and Asoko's senior year.

"In there you bleed red when the fans are backing you 100 percent," Asoko says. "There's nothing like that in Reynolds."