POULSBO — As NKHS 1937 graduate Chet Gausta entered the newly renovated North Kitsap High School gymnasium Friday night, he was overwhelmed by the stature of the remodeled facility — and possibly, a little jealous.

“I think I’ll go back to school,” he commented in jest.

The long-time Viking alumnus, among the many former and present North Kitsap coaches and athletes who came out for the gym’s christening, was certainly not alone in admiring the facility’s new look.

“This is a really good thing,” NKHS football coach Jerry Parrish said. “It’s only going to get better as the kids develop an appreciation for the place.”

The renovation, part of an $8.8 million project combined with the high school’s “H” building remodel, sports new locker facilities, classrooms and a massively revamped main gym.

Several generations of Vikings spoke at the dedication event, which also included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by NKSD administrators, NKHS athletic director Al Gleich, school board president Catherine Ahl and current athletes Jared Prince and Lisa Gilbert.

Former Viking football and basketball coach of 32 years Steve Neilsen, who spoke at the event, said he had a rather unique appreciation of the new gym, given the amount of time he spent in the old one.

“(A remodel) was in the planning stages for years but there was never money to do it,” Neilsen said. “I would’ve loved to have had this.”

Neilsen recalled his coaching days in the NK gym — but the inadequacy of the Viking facility was more apparent on the road, the coach said.

“We’d go to the other schools and see the trophy cases and locker rooms,” Neilsen commented. “We’d envy everything they had.”

Anecdotes of the former gym’s flaws were also abundant — jokes humorous now but probably not so funny at the time. Neilsen recalled a broken water pipe that flooded underneath the gym floor and caused bubbles to rise in the hardwood.

“The floor looked like a mountain range,” he said.

Due to the remodel, the gym now has an automated bleacher system, new hardwood floors, Vikings insignia and a brand-new lighting system. The difference in appearance was drastic to many in attendance.

“I don’t think this could be any better,” said Bud Frykholm, an NKHS class of 1935 graduate. “It’s absolutely magnificent.”

Frykholm recalled his football, basketball and baseball playing days at North, and said the courts on which he played “… held no comparison,” to the newly renovated gym.

The original gym at the current high school, which opened in 1964, had its flooring altered twice in its 40-year span — but not much else had been remodeled.

“It’s frustrating it has taken so long,” said Parrish, who has coached at the school since 1972. “But it certainly is a breath of fresh air.”

Thanks to funds from a $61 million bond issue in 2001, the gym received the massive face-lift and was one of the first goals the funding achieved. Given the failures to achieve results in the past, NKSD Director of Capital Programs Robin Shoemaker said it took time for many of the Vikings’ veteran coaches, including Parrish, to believe the re-model would happen.

“Two years ago, when we started this project, I encouraged everyone to dream,” Shoemaker said. “They were reluctant at first.”

With the renovated gym accomplished, Parrish said he’s finally satisfied that Viking athletes finally have a place to be proud of calling home.

“They say nothing good ever happens fast,” Parrish remarked.