Setting A Stadium Timeline
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
New LED lighting fastened on poles currently looks down at Donald Gardner Stadium, but when they begin illuminating Friday night football is still anyone’s guess.
Opelousas Board of Aldermen members were told last week that it could be Oct. 10 before teams can use the artificial turf surface for games..
So that means between the first and sixth playing dates of 2025, Opelousas High and Opelousas Catholic might be searching for alternative sites to play home games.
That reality was first published two weeks ago in St. Landry Now.com, when Opelousas Catholic head football coach Cullen Matherne expressed concerns about early scheduling for this year.
It’s evident now that the annual six-team public school jamboree normally hosted at Donald Gardner, will also be played elsewhere in August.
Michael Cullen, chief architect for the estimated $8 million Phase 1 project which includes multiple stadium improvements, the artificial turf playing surface for football and track and an eight-lane outdoor track, estimates that contractors indicated last week that they are about 40 percent complete with their work.
Cullen added that two weeks of work days have already been lost due to wet weather.
If the track surface is still not complete by the time the regular season is underway, there is a chance,said Cullen, that a portion of the last half of the football season can still be played at the stadium.
Charting The Season
Opelousas High is scheduled to play the first three games of the season on the road against Teurlings Catholic, Edna Karr and Alexandria Senior High, while Opelousas Catholic plans to open 2025 at Iota.
OCS has home games against East Beauregard and Port Barre that will require playing at other sites on weeks two and three.
Both OHS and OCS have home contests scheduled for Week 6, so it will be interesting to see how the two programs settle that issue if it arises.
What’s Being Done
The Board of Aldermen presentation showed there is a lot of work involved for the stadium project which began Feb. 24.
Homeside restrooms and concession stands are being constructed or remodeled and home and visitors’ locker rooms are being renovated, according to Cullen.
Plumbing for the locker rooms, stadium electricity and drainage are being improved, Cullen said, because those have been problematic issues.
Water has begun leaking through the brick on the home side of the stadium, completed in 1958, so that matter is also being addressed said Cullen
New perimeter fencing will replace what was torn down during construction, while new ticket booths and metal detectors will greet those entering both sides of the stadium, said Cullen.
Discussing The Progress
Cullen was apologetic about the progress of the project.
There is also the potential for further work stoppage as the hurricane and tropical rain season approaches.
City officials have said publicly for the past several months that the project was on schedule and would probably be completed by the end of August, in time for the jamboree.
However, those statements were seemingly bathed in optimism..
The possible Oct. 10 date is not what the city hoped for, Cullen said.
Cullen pointed out that the contractors are now being asked to prioritize the completion of the turf field in order to facilitate football.
“We are seeing if that can be done and finish the track afterward,” Cullen noted.
