By Mike Kays
Officials from the New York-based company Asati (Air Structures American Technologies, Inc.) are scheduled to meet with athletic department officials from Northeastern State University today to examine the deflated indoor practice facility adjacent to Doc Wadley Stadium.
The nearly four-year-old, 22,500-square foot structure collapsed Tuesday night amid the intense portion of the winter storm that dropped over two inches of freezing rain and sleet in the area.
Associate athletic director Scott Pettus said Thursday that school officials have determined that a backup generator that operates off natural gas failed to fire when the campus lost power on Tuesday.
Pettus said that the weight of the ice upon the inflatable roof coupled with the lack of indoor heat caused by the power outage “forced it to come down pretty hard,” ripping a seam near the service entrance to the facility. The collapse occurred between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to school officials.
Asati, which has manufactured inflatable structures since 1962 and built NSU’s in 2005 with the aid of private donors, will “assess the damage and give us some options as to what comes next,” Pettus said.
About $300,000 in equipment is in the complex which at this time of the year is used for strength and conditioning programs for all of NSU’s athletic programs and team practices for outdoor sports in the event of inclement weather. One of those programs, the NSU football team, is mere weeks away from the start of spring practice.
Officials say most of the equipment was unharmed.
“This is the most important time to develop a team in the weight room,” said NSU football coach Kenny Evans. “There is no other place on campus that can fulfill the needs of a college football team.”
Some alternative plans include moving the athletes’ workouts to the university’s fitness center, Tahlequah High School, Sequoyah High School or a combination of the three.
The Tahlequah Daily Press contributed to this article.
