Ahearn Field House gets face lift

Santa Claus must be hitting that North Pole moonshine a little hard, because he apparently forgot the correct day for doling out presents.

This season, the K-State volleyball team's home in Ahearn Field House received a huge face lift, and head coach Suzie Fritz said old Kriss Kringle got out early this year.

"It's been like Christmas for this whole week, because the new seating arrangement is beautiful," Fritz said after the first home match. "It's beautiful. It's the most beautiful thing in the world to me. And then you add in all those students showing up to support our team and the people in the community; it's an unbelievable environment."

The most notable addition hangs as an ominous focal point high over the heads of the fans. A Powercat banner now looks down from above the northern bleachers with its usual terror-inducing, spine-tingling gaze. Senior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm said after the first home match that the new banner had its desired effect.

"It feels like our crowd's a lot bigger, because it cuts it off, since it just keeps going on purple all the way up," Chisholm said. "I was like, ‘Goodness, guys, it looks like we've got three times as many fans because it's so purple everywhere.'"

After the fans have paid the appropriate amount of homage to and prostrated before the omniscient profile, they can enjoy the new seating. On the north side, which includes the student section, the new bleachers have an installed backrest that folds down as a seat when not in use. Opposite to those, the old modular sections made of less-than-comfortable metal were replaced with a a mountain of chairback seats, a welcome addition to derrieres everywhere.

Of course, with the excitement induced by the volleyball team, fans will not have much of an opportunity to sit, but it is nice to have the option all the same.

To stave off hunger pangs and dry throats, Sodexo re-signed as the vending company for all home matches and improved its selection of food and ice-cold drinks.

Chisholm said the team was "super pumped" to see the new amenities.

"We're excited to play at home," Chisholm said. "We love our new bleachers."

The changes come from a joint effort between the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Student Governing Association. The latter put up $70,000 with the stipulation that the athletics department would match it. Some private donors also helped to bring the improvements to Ahearn, including the Irsik family, after whom the court is named, and Clay Harvey, a longtime supporter of K-State volleyball. For Fritz, the change has been in the making for a long time.

"I don't think that they really understand how long it's taken and how much effort has been put into it — on the parts of many, many people — and how much we've wanted this to happen," Fritz said. "It's tremendous. It's going to upgrade our environment big time, and help us keep up with what's happening throughout the rest of the country and the rest of the league."