Window Rock Sports Center closed for inspection

By Jan-Mikael Patterson
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK – The Window Rock Sports Center is closed “indefinitely,” according to a sign taped to its doors.

The Navajo Nation Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered it closed on Feb. 29, 2024, at 10 a.m.

Groundskeeper Jeff Plummer said that since the Division of Natural Resources is taking control of the fairgrounds, all buildings are being inspected by NNOSHA.

Plummer said the northeast corner of the building has some structural damages, along with other areas that will be “tested.”

“This building was dedicated in 1958, and I’m sure not long after was construction,” Plummer said. “This building has been closed off and on. A lot of the events that are booked now, like meetings, fundraisers, they got moved to Nakai Hall.”

He said basketball tournaments are one of the most significant events that continue to use the building.

“We don’t get any funding,” Plummer said. “People ask, ‘What happened to the money you guys get for rentals and events?’ All that money that comes in with (booked events) all go back to (Navajo Nation) General Funds.”

He said this is the first time the building has been closed “to get testing done. All those years, it’s been band-aid after band-aid.”

“This building really needs it,” he said. “The idea is to open it back up so that people can come openly and use the facility, take showers.”

Plummer has been a groundskeeper for the sports center for the past seven years.

Richard Bates, NNOSHA’s safety officer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Wednesday afternoon’s deadline.