The roof of the Paul Bailey Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center collapsed under accumulated snow around 12 a.m. Wednesday, said Court Attendant Chelsie Churchill ’16, who witnessed the cave-in.
The collapse occurred shortly after members of the men’s and women’s club tennis teams left the courts at midnight, and no one incurred injuries, Churchill said.
“I was about to walk out of the office when I heard a really loud noise, but it wasn’t a noise I had heard before,” Churchill said.
A California native, Churchill said her first thought was that it was an earthquake. “My instinct was to go under the desk, but it didn’t last long enough.”
When the noises subsided, Churchill said she “peeked out and saw that part of the bubble collapsed.” After taking a photograph, she left the building in fear of further collapse.
“I’m glad it didn’t happen 10 or 20 minutes earlier,” she said. “It was pretty terrifying.”
The collapse poses an immediate threat of water damage to the court floors from the snow that fell into the building, Vice President for Facilities Management Stephen Maiorisi wrote in an email to The Herald.
The process of prevention began immediately. The work Wednesday “consisted of at least six roofing contractors removing the snow with shovels and wheelbarrows,” Maiorisi wrote. “This took approximately eight hours.”
The roof of the Pizzitola must be completely cleared of snow before repairs can begin, Mairoisi wrote. Cranes were on site Wednesday afternoon to begin the removal process, which the Department of Facilities Management expects “will take at least another full day or more,” he added.
Once the snow is completely removed, temporary repairs will be made until a more permanent solution can be implemented in the spring, he wrote, adding that roofing contractors will begin temporary mending of the roof “as early as this coming Friday morning.”
The roof, a synthetic fabric air-supported structure, is only two-and-a-half years old. “I would think they would have fixed the problem the last time it collapsed,” Churchill said, referring to the roof’s previous snow-related failure in January 2011.
“We need to investigate why the roof failed before we can fully determine what the final corrective action will be,” Maiorisi wrote.
The structural damages presently only impede tennis practices, leaving other uses of the building largely unaffected. “We are hoping to be in a position to re-open the tennis courts for use as soon as possible,” Maiorisi wrote, though he expressed concern regarding the snow forecast for the coming weekend.
“I guess I’m technically unemployed right now,” Churchill said. “The club teams don’t get to practice, so I don’t get to work.”
Winter weather also wreaked havoc on Andrews Commons Tuesday. “The cold weather affected the pipe above us and water broke through,” union worker Stewart Doyle said. The area was closed for the day when “they replaced the tiles that were affected,” he said.
Bailey McLaughlin ’17 was in the common area on Tuesday morning, before the dining area’s standard opening. “It looked like there was ceiling that had fallen out, but I didn’t really get a good look,” she said.
The eatery closed for the remainder of the day to undergo necessary repairs.
“It looks great now, like nothing ever happened,” Doyle said.
