A ‘Lions’ Den’ for the Mighty Lions

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

Photography: MARLENE QUARONI | FC

SOUTHWEST RANCHES | Father Jaime Acevedo, St. Mark Church and School pastor, arose with a mighty name for the long-awaited St. Mark School ‘airnasium’.

“We will call this The Lions’ Den, since you students are the Mighty Lions,” he said during the dedication ceremony Feb. 26, 2024. Archbishop Thomas Wenski blessed the new facility, which parents of the school’s students had desired for many years.

“It’s a wonderful way to unite the community, of the school and the church. I have been 100 percent committed to creating this airnasium,” said Father Acevedo.

The airnasium was constructed because students were playing on an unshaded, unventilated surface, explained Teresita Wardlow, St. Mark School principal.

“There is so much heat here in South Florida, and every year seems to get hotter and hotter,” she said as two windmills resembling blades whirled overhead. "We needed a structure to keep students safe from the environment. The airnasium provides this for our students.”

“This is a wonderful place to gather,” said Jim Rigg, Archdiocese of Miami Schools superintendent. “It will be here for students in the coming decades.”

The airnasium features high-volume, low-speed industrial overhead fans that ventilate the 10,000-square-foot, open-air structure. There are six electronic basketball hoops, a main competition basketball court and two cross courts for practice. The court is striped for both basketball and volleyball and has two scoreboards. It will soon have a logo bearing the words “St. Mark Catholic School Lions, established 1994,” on center court. Rolling metal bleachers can be placed in the airnasium next to the courts.

“This is much more economical than building a gymnasium,” said Carlos Sanabria, building project manager for the Archdiocese of Miami. “It has all the amenities of a gymnasium. It’s a pre-engineered metal open-air building, with a painted acrylic sports floor and metal roof.”

William Cavazza, St. Mark School athletic director, called the airnasium a big win and great news for the school.

“Now we can play our home games at our school,” he said. “It will be great to play on our home court.”

In a four-minute video created for an airnasium fundraising gala in 2022, which raised $195,000, students said they couldn’t wait for the airnasium to be built.

“I can’t wait for my friends to cheer me on. We can finally have home court advantage on our own court. This will be great for PE classes. I’m so excited about this,” say students in the video.

The Miami Heat “Hoop Troop” and the school’s cheerleaders cheered on as students sat on the new court watching the dedication. The school’s band added to the festivities. Archbishop Wenski even played one-on-one with Father Acevedo to inaugurate the new facility, which cost close to $1 million.

School administrators acknowledged those who contributed to the airnasium project with their donations, time, and talent.

“Lisa Lopez, Family School Association president, was the backbone of the project,” said Wardlow. “She did an amazing job helping raise funds with different fundraisers.”

Wardlow also acknowledged those who made the airnasium a reality: the Ozinga Foundation for helping pay for the concrete; the Lopez family for contributing scoreboards; Premier Company/the Lyman family for the brick laying; Llorente architects; Camcon Construction; CXM Builders/the Muñoz family; One 7 Lab/Mr. Christopher Piedra who designed the court logos; LED R Us/the Knips family, for lighting; as well as members of the Family Student Association current and past, members of the school’s consultative board, members of the Airnasium Committee, and parish office and religious education staff.