Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Lisa Hungerford, the assistant principal at Bonanza High School, was giving a campus tour this school year to a group of graduates returning for a class reunion.
Like most former Bonanza Bengals coming back to their old stomping grounds, there’s one place at the top of the list to visit: the gymnasium.
It’s like taking a trip back to the 1970s, when the school debuted on Charleston Avenue, just west of what’s now the Medical District.
The walls have wood paneling and the school’s colors of yellow and brown are plastered everywhere. It creates a game day experience that feels like the teams are lacing it up with The Village People blasting on the loudspeakers.
“It’s like an old Hoosiers gym right in the heart of Las Vegas,” said Tristan Gordon, the assistant principal in charge of athletics. “Kids come in and their mind is blown. It felt like they were walking back in time.”
Hungerford takes pride in welcoming visitors because she is also a graduate — and the school’s unofficial historian.
Hungerford is helping preserve that history in the school’s ongoing $65 million makeover that includes modernizing the gym. There are new bleachers, lighting and paint.
However, there won’t be any wood paneling. That has been removed — but not left for waste.
The wood was used as part of a mural design in the remodeling of the cafeteria that embraces the look that makes Bonanza stand out. The yellow wall has “1976” in brown to pay homage to the year the school opened. And 25 narrow rows of the former wood paneling are front and center.
Preserving part of the wood was one way to honor the school’s past, said Hungerford, a 1996 graduate.
“The wood paneling (is) definitely a Bonanza thing,” she said. “The alumni love it. That’s the first thing they ask to see.”
The school has produced the likes of Major League Baseball’s Kris Bryant, UFC champion Frank Mir, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons and Nevada Supreme Court Justice Linda Bell.
Bonanza was the ninth high school in Las Vegas when it opened. There are now nearly 50 schools as the valley has expanded outward and the population has swelled to 2.3 million residents.
But for those who attended Bonanza, the small-town feel and “Once a Bengal, Always a Bengal” mantra, are still prevalent.
Hungerford sees that passion when giving those tours to graduates, many of whom are generous with their money in helping the school with hopes of creating memorable experiences for a new generation of students.
The remodel was much needed as the school approaches its 50th anniversary next year.
Not only had the institution of about 1,800 students outgrown the space, but it was also in dire need of modernization.
The enhancements include: blowing out walls in the cafeteria for a larger gathering area; updates to the cafeteria kitchen; removing all the lockers; bathroom renovations; front office upgrades; installing water refill stations; and aesthetic enhancements of fresh paint, floors and lighting.
For athletics, grass will be replaced with turf on all the playing fields.
Additionally, the courtyard was widened — but still includes a gigantic statue of a yellow Bengal. That’s another favorite of former students for a photo when coming home for a Bonanza visit.
When graduates from the class of 1994 recently visited, “they loved the fresh look for the kids,” Hungerford said.
She can’t wait to show off the finished product when work is completed in June.
“I love it here,” she says. “I love showing off our home.”
