Fleur-de-Lax

Five years ago, the goal of Eagle Athletic Facilities and Archbishop Shaw High School was to build a safe, fun and friendly gathering space for the families of our community. Since its inception in 2018, Joe Zimmerman Stadium has been the go-to gathering place for families for Friday night football games on the Westbank. On any given Friday night during football season the grounds, around our beautiful 100-year-old oak tree, are filled with the sounds and activities of elementary and high school kids playing and socializing in a safe and fun environment. It’s exciting to see so many young people, some still in their East and Westbank school uniforms, playing together outside and away from all the technological devices. Last year we averaged over 2000 people at our Friday night football events.

With the shortage of stadiums and fields in the New Orleans area, many of our local schools, sports teams and clubs have used Joe Zimmerman Stadium to host their games and events. From semi-pro rugby and soccer to high school lacrosse, Joe Zimmerman stadium is often the only place to play for teams without their own field. Our vision of being the center of our local Westbank community is coming to fruition.

With that said, it is with a heavy heart that I write this letter asking for financial assistance. Joe Zimmerman Stadium took a direct hit from last month’s tornado. This powerful tornado lifted the stadium off its foundation, twisting many of the steel support beams. Our 40-foot video scoreboard was severely damaged as well. We were fortunate to have wind coverage included in the scoreboard coverage but not on the stadium coverage. Who would have ever thought that a 2000+ seat stadium would be moved off its foundation? A week after the tornado, a team from GT Grandstands flew in from Florida to access our situation. As we await the cost estimate for the repairs, we are reaching out to the community asking for donations that will go directly to the repair of the grandstands and the scoreboard. I hope you can find it in your heart to make a donation that will help us repair our facilities and get our vision back on track.

The estimate to disassemble and reassemble the grandstands has come in at $308,500 plus the cost of repairing the concrete footings.