GONZALES The 36,000-square-foot gym at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center has gotten new life in a renovation that not only expands its sports capacity but broadens its appeal for other events.

"It's going to be a great asset for the community," said Travis Turner, Ascension Parish councilman and head of the council's recreation committee.

By removing space-consuming wooden bleachers andreplacing them with portable ones and by rearranging basketball goals, workers transfigured the gym's previous lone basketball court into two; the space has been reworked to add a second volleyball court, as well.

A new public address system, laminate wood floors and fresh paint make the gym, a free-standing building on the Lamar-Dixon grounds, almost like a new venue for all types of events.

"It will provide us with another opportunity to attract a diverse calendar of events to Lamar-Dixon that will appeal to a broader audience," Parish President Kenny Matassa said.

The $339,000 gym project came in early in May instead of July and about $10,000 under budget, said Martin McConnell, public information officer for the parish government.

Last month, the popular Senior Sock Hop dances the parish throws for older adults returned to the gym for the first timesince its upgrade.

A second, still unfunded phase, would expand the size of the gym building and add a third court.

"We'll keep working toward that end," Turner said.

Three years ago, Ascension Parish voters rejected by a large margin a proposed 10-year, 5-mill property tax that would have funded a new recreational complex at Lamar-Dixon, a new performing arts center and upgrades to all parish parks.

In the wake of the tax's failure, Turner pushed for funding for improvements to the gym alone.

Turner had originally sought funding for a $2 million renovation and expansion of the gym, but a budget amendment he proposed in late 2015 for the project died in committee, as Parish Council members wrangled over funding for recreational needs elsewhere in the parish.

Turner returned with a scaled-back version of the original gym plan, opting for a first phase that renovated the existing gym building with new courts for basketball or volleyball.

"The gym was inadequate," Turner said. "Individuals who wanted to play basketball and volleyball were underserved."

The renovation of the gym was due to begin last fall, but the August flood changed those plans, and the facility served as a major distribution center for meals after the disaster.

Work on the gym, which is called the Ascension Gym and has a lobby and concessions area, began in January.

The Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, off La. 30 just outside the Gonzales city limits and not far from the Tanger Outlet shopping center, has 90,000 square feet of air-conditioned display space in two other large buildings on the site, two open-air arenas and two recreational vehicle parks.

The renovated gym enhances "Lamar-Dixon's capacity as a general entertainment center in the parish and the capital city region and Gulf coast," said Kyle Gautreau, chief of staff for the Ascension Parish government.

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

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Lamar-Dixon Expo Center gym back in play after renovations - The Advocate