Protective padding will be installed in the rec center’s gym after a man died from injuries he sustained running into an exposed wall during a soccer game two weeks ago.

Teton County commissioners unanimously approved $4,000 for the purchase of the padding at a meeting last week. The cushion will be erected along walls at the east and west ends of the gym.

The padding is being added in the wake of the death of Nicolas Izard, 32, who hit the concrete wall Dec. 13 while running alongside an opposing player during a game at the Jackson-Teton County Recreation Center.

The rules for indoor soccer, which is played on a basketball court at the rec center, allowed for the walls to be used as boundaries.

Players with emergency medical training attended to Izard until EMTs arrived from St. John’s Medical Center. Izard was flown to Idaho Falls for treatment. He was pronounced dead Dec. 15 at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. The cause of death was listed as head trauma.

He lived south of Jackson with his wife, Sasha Tingle-Izard, and their daughter, Cheyenne.

County Recreation Department Director Steve Ashworth didn’t return calls from the News&Guide on Friday.