A Seymour High School teacher and former coach is carrying out his idea to make the school’s athletic facilities more visible to guests and the community and safer for students.

The school board approved a request from social studies teacher and assistant athletics director Dave Urbanski, a past wrestling coach, to purchase decorative vinyl decal wraps to cover the main doors and windows of the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium (the third-largest high school gym in the country), the auxiliary gym, the commons area between the two, the aquatic center and a large study hall room in the main building.

The project costs $14,732, and school officials hope to have it completed in time for graduation May 31.

The goal is to improve the look of the facilities, but there are other benefits, Urbanski said.

The adhesive decals will give the buildings more recognizable entrances for those not familiar with the school, improve safety by not allowing people on the outside to see what’s going on inside and help brand the school, he said.

“When I drive along Community Drive, I look up at Lloyd Scott Gymnasium, and I see some big eyesores,” he said. “The blinds along room 401 and 402 create a dingy look and can’t be kept straight.”

Urbanski said the gym is a showpiece to the community and therefore should be used to help brand the school to potential students.

The covers are a perfect way to give the pool a more visible entrance, too, because so many people have trouble finding it, he added.

A preliminary design concept from Slam Dunk Sports Marketing features a close-up of the school’s fighting owl eyes, the school’s Seymour Owls athletic logo and says “Home of the Owls.” There also is lettering that spells out the name of the facility. The design incorporates the school’s colors — purple and white.

The board approved Slam Dunk’s price and proposal for the project at a recent meeting.

Urbanski said he has visited Hauser High School in nearby Hope, which has the same kind of door and window decal wraps in place.

“Their principal couldn’t say enough about how much they enjoy it and look forward to expanding on it,” Urbanski said.

The life expectancy of the vinyl decal wraps is at least five to seven years before they may need to be replaced because of fading or peeling, he added.

Urbanski said he was inspired by other visual improvements that have been made on campus over the years, including the area around the storage barn near the stadium and the addition of trash receptacles with the Owls logo around the campus.

“I wanted to find other high-visible areas that we could improve,” he said. “I think from a cosmetic standpoint, this will produce a dividend like no other for the investment.”