After 50 years Rockdale will open the doors to a new gymnasium.

The News got a tour of the soon to be opened gymnasium, which will be named after former Rockdale basketball coach Cleveland Stroud Thursday at 5 p.m.

Bulldogs' fans walk into the gym from the upper level where a brand new floor freshly painted with the school's logo awaits. Stepping down toward the court, fans then enter into a veranda and concessions area, which is highlighted by floor-to-ceiling windows and an archway emblazoned with Welcome to Bulldog Country.

Going to the right of the basketball court, gym visitors will find Rockdale's new wrestling room. From there the boys teams and P.E. locker rooms stretch to the back of the gym (facing the football field) with a trainer's room and all-purpose classrooms.

Around the other side of Rockdale's gym is the girls team and P.E. locker rooms.

"I think the first words you would say when you walk in is, ‘It's amazing,'" Rockdale Principal Georgi Nour said. "What a great opportunity it is for our students who are going to have to compete in an amazing, state of the art facility."

Along with the new gym, Rockdale also has a new field house for its football team, which shares the building with the JROTC.

The old gym is being converted to a 9th grade academy with two science areas and an administrative space.