By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Mayor Al Arreola toured the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District’s Cody Wardlaw Gym on Tuesday to check in
on an ongoing renovation that is a joint venture between the district and the city.
Arreola said the purpose of the tour was to inform the community about the status of the
renovations. The mayor said he wanted to reassure citizens that both the gym renovation and
other city projects are being completed.
“One of the key things (about the tour) was showing taxpayers that their dollars are being
utilized for the purpose of the quality of life for the young ones and the old ones, and that (the
city) is actually doing it,” Arreola said.
“We show that we already did (projects) in the end with a ribbon cutting, but we don’t actually
tell the citizens, ‘this is how it started and this is how we are going to end up’,” Arreola added.
The interior of the Cody Wardlaw Gym, located on West Martin Street adjacent to the school
district’s student performance center and admin building, is undergoing upgrades to its interior,
and school district administrators will use the facility as part of the future Garfield Middle School
campus, starting with the 2025 fall semester. The facility is part of the San Felipe Del Rio
Consolidated Independent School District's (SFDRCISD) reconfiguration project to create
three new middle school campuses for the 2025-2026 school year.
Del Rio City Council members approved a resolution in April 2023, to collaborate with
SFDRCISD to assist the district in funding the gym renovations. The project has been estimated
to cost $5 million, and both the school district and city have agreed to fund half of the project.
Arreola met with The 830 Times on Tuesday morning to give a
tour of the gym and show what
construction crews were working on. Arreola said the construction inside the gym began within
the past month, adding, “It has been moving faster than I thought.”
The current work being done at the gym includes the restructuring of the former lobby at the
front end of the gym. The construction team was working in the area at the time of the tour,
adding restrooms for boys and girls.
Arreola said the actual gym area of the facility will remain the same with a few changes. The
biggest change will be rebuffing and restaining the gym’s wooden floor. He also said the
benches will be retouched, new backboards will be added to the baskets on the court, and new
scoreboards and lighting fixtures will be installed in the ceiling.
The changing rooms for the home and out-of-town teams on both sides of the gym are currently
being used as storage areas, and they will be cleared out.
When completed, Cody Wardlaw will also be available for public use. Arreola envisions the gym
being used by various people, from children to adults.
After Cody Wardlaw Gym is finished and open to the public, Arreola said the city may consider
looking into fixing up the Joe Ramos Center, 1105 W. De La Rosa St.
“We’re going to tell the citizens that if (the city) is going to go after any bond for anything out
there to make (Joe Ramos) livable and acceptable, then we have to say and show them that
there is a gym coming up. We’re not going to shut them out and not give them a place to go;
they will have a new gym,” Arreola said.
Arreola thanked prior City Manager John Sheedy for his involvement in initiating the partnership
with the school district two years ago. The Cody Wardlaw Gym renovations are expected to be
complete by the end of August.
