New Orleans officials celebrate finished $5.9M stadium updates
ALGIERS, La. (WGNO) — New Orleans city officials came together on Thursday, Aug. 1, to celebrate the completed upgrades to Skelly Rupp Stadium in Algiers.
The project, which, according to city officials, brings the stadium back into commerce for youths to use in community and competitive games, costed $5.9 million in city bond funds and took about a year to complete.
“As mayor-elect, I made a sincere promise to this community that we would bring Skelly Rupp Stadium back and better than before. In the spirit of true partnership and staying focused on delivering results, we are here today,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “That focus started with the community, listening and trusting government when we asked them to approve an unprecedented bond sale of $500 million, which helped fund this renovation.”
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The repairs to the stadium, which is located on Vespasian Boulevard and sustained damage back during Hurricane Katrina, have reportedly also made a significant impact for the local Edna Karr Baseball Team.
“It means a lot man. It means that we don’t have to fuss and fight over the fields. Got our own field now, so it’s good,” said Edna Karr’s Coach Allen Jones.
The work included many changes, including repairs to the field, the manager box and the administration box. Complete overhauls of the bathrooms and press box were also done. All lights were replaced with LED fixtures, a new scoreboard was installed and the parking lot was redone. The changes were all made specifically with stormwater drainage in mind.
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“This facility has sat dormant for almost 20 years,” said New Orleans Recreation Development Commission CEO Larry Barabino Jr. “We watched teams from Algiers, whether it was NORD teams or high school teams, have to travel to the East Bank to play in facilities. They never had the opportunity for home games in their own community, on their own turf. That ends today. Whether it is Edna Karr, Landry school, the Military Academy – we’re not finished here. We want to ensure that this state-of-the-art facility continues to be better for all our youth and their families.”
The upgrades to the stadium meet the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s standards for both daytime and nighttime games, the Americans with Disabilities Act standards and the U.S. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rules for the preservation of eagles and their nesting patterns, due to eagles that had made their home adjacent to the facility.
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