When the girls’ hockey team first entered their locker room at the St. Louis Park Rec Center this season, they were welcomed by a barrage of red; a newly renovated locker room, made possible by donations, greeted them.

The locker room was originally built in the 1990s and needed renovations. “There was carpet that dulled our skates, the showers were moldy, and there was writing all over the lockers,” said senior captain Jordyn Burns.

Several years ago the boys’ hockey team got a new locker room. This year, with the help of the community an amazing new locker room was built, and the girls are happy that it is now their turn. “This past fall the much needed renovations were paid for with donations,” said Athletic Director Jerry Pettinger.

With all their gear, the girls need a lot of room, so accommodations were made to make the locker room more spacious and organized. “I love the new locker room because there is lot of space to spread out and hang out with the team. Also the individual lockers are really nice, and it has space to put everything in,” said sophomore Sara Taffe.

The locker room is more than a locker room: it has a new stereo system, flat screen TV, big individual lockers like one would see in a professional locker room, red floors, and sparkling shower heads. “I really like the new locker room because it’s so much nicer than the one we had before; everything from the floor to stereo is new,” said Burns.

The girls are surprised and thankful for all of the new things and how great it turned out. “It is so nice; it compares to some of the nicest college locker rooms in the country. We are so lucky to have the new amazing locker room; it is an absolute dream. It has everything you want in a locker room,” said captain Tiana Press.