This year, Winter Ball is getting a makeover.

Because of the high price of renting the Decathlon Club last year combined with low attendance in the past few years, the event has lost more money than it has earned. This year, in an effort to make Winter Ball more profitable and well attended, ASB is holding Winter Ball in the gym on Dec. 13.

The new location will bring the cost of a bid down from around $50 to only $15, said ASB secretary Felix Tuan.

“Normally it’s iffy if I’ll even go because you have to buy a corsage plus rent a tux plus bids and soon enough it’s $300 for one night, but because it’s so much cheaper this year, who could resist the urge to get their groove on?” said senior Scott Thoren.

By not spending as much money on the location, ASB will have more money to spend on decorations. A professional decorator is being hired to transform the gym into a winter wonderland. The tentative theme is “A Night in St. Petersburg.”

“We want to go all out on decorations because we have the extra money to do so,” said Tuan.

Although the dance will be more informal, ASB wants to keep the dance classy. Girls will be asked to wear a dress or skirt, while boys will be required to wear slacks, a nice shirt and a tie.

“We want to keep the atmosphere of a Winter Ball, not just another school dance,” said Tuan. “It’s supposed to be clean and fun.”

Students are still encouraged to bring dates to maintain the atmosphere, but the ASB hopes that the stigma attached to coming alone will lessen because of the new, more causal location, resulting in higher attendance.

“Winter Ball usually has such a small number of people that come because of the pressure to bring or have dates,” said Tuan. “I think people won’t feel that as much with the changes.”

Tuan and the rest of the ASB hope the new Winter Ball will prove to be a success and reap benefits for both the school and students.