INSTALLATION BEGINS ON NEW ‘HIGH-TECH’ FLOOR AT WICOMICO YOUTH & CIVIC CENTER’S NORMANDY ARENA

Delegate Norman H. Conway and County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., welcomed elected officials and interested citizens to a “floor-breaking” ceremony today in the Normandy Arena of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. The floor replacement is scheduled for completion in early September.

The floor replacement, budgeted at $540,000, is one part of a $2 Million WY&CC restoration project. According to Director Gary Mackes, the new floor will be much more “event-friendly” than the existing one and will greatly enhance the arena’s marketing appeal for groups staging trade shows, concerts, conventions, etc. The new floor will feature 27 utility boxes in a concrete surface. Besides electricity, floor users will have access to potable water and communications cables. Mackes emphasized that “the days of wires crisscrossing the arena floor are over.”

County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., said, “Preserving and improving the viability of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center has been a major goal of my administration. The WY&CC is truly an economic engine for the county contributing some $11.6 Million per year to the economy of Wicomico County. We must keep it competitive. The installation of the new floor does that. As is so often the case, Delegate Norm Conway is responsible for securing a large portion of the funding for the new floor. I salute him as he continues to fight for us and our economy on the state level.”

Among other improvements in the overall WY&CC restoration project are new parking lot lights, roof and masonry repairs, HVAC replacement, new video and scoreboard equipment and basketball floor replacement. Funding for the overall project is from state and county bond issues not from the county General Fund. Debt service will be paid from hotel and admission taxes.