A renovated sports club reopened in Baghdad’s Hai Al-Adel community Dec. 3.

A few months ago, the Al-Adel Sports Club was an old run-down building with only one functional weight room. Coalition forces and local contractors decided to reconstruct the gym using the Commanders Emergency Relief Fund.

“The Al-Adel Sports club was a pretty run down building, it had holes in the walls, in the ceilings, all the glass was in pretty bad shape and the only thing in use was the weight room,” said Capt. Kelly Lanphere, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, attached to 2nd (Heavy) Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

“It just needed a lot of stuff, in fact, more than we could provide. We chose to focus on the main building which ended up costing $117,600 of CERP funds.” The new building provides a place for neighborhood residents to work out by offering an array of sports training. The gym will also engage youth in meaningful activities.

“Basketball, volleyball, handball, indoor and outdoor soccer, tae kwon do, weight training and body building will be available for youth and adults,” said Lanphere. “The idea behind these kinds of projects is to give (the youth) something else to do, something to look forward to, occupy their time and promote a healthy lifestyle. There’s a lot to be learned from sports. If they can involve themselves with the teams, they’ll learn some key things that will help them stay away from crime.”

As the crime rate has reduced significantly throughout Baghdad people have gained a sense of normalcy and general happiness allowing community improvement contracts to take place.

“Because of the improvement in security we were able to establish contracts and see these projects through,” said Samir Sabar project overseer and local contractor. “When the people heard about it, it made them very excited because the building was old and run down, and they were very happy to know they were going to get a new building.”

The project took about two and a half months to complete. The gym was renovated, rewired, and the lighting systems for the soccer field and basketball court were replaced. Other renovations included painting the facility, replacing the air conditioning units and a new bathroom equipped with showers. Doors and windows were replaced and new walkways were installed, said Nima Alsiegh, a civil engineer who oversaw the project from start to finish.

“It feels good to help out, and give these people a chance at living a normal life,” Lanphere said. “They don’t have the things we get to enjoy and this gives them a little taste of what it’s like to have decent facilities, and an opportunity to take an interest in their health, enjoyment and become a better people.”

MNF-I