By Kyle Roberts
Following the Lincoln Parish School Board’s unanimous February vote to send a $17.5 million bond proposal for a public vote in April, one of the line items in the total proposal the residents of Ruston School District No. 1 will include a large covered facility for the campus of Ruston high School that will be nestled cozily to the Chick Childress Field House on the north side of Hoss Garrett Stadium.
The estimated cost for the covered facility with full electrical power over a turfed field will be $5 million and is planned to be used for more than just a football field, offering other sports and clubs opportunities to either use the facility or have expanded access to the field at the stadium.
“I think what everybody needs to understand is that, while it will have a football field in it, it will have lines for a full-sized soccer field in it, as well,” LPSB superintendent Ricky Durrett said. “In talking with soccer coaches (after the January ice storm), they made the comment that they could have practiced on a field under a covered facility.”
“Another one of the big things for me is when we have band camp going on in the summer, football two-a-days in the heat of the summer,” Durrett said. “Other schools have told us that underneath the covered facility is about 15 degrees cooler. So from a safety standpoint of kids being able to use it and practicing when it’s 100 to 105 degrees outside, that’s one of the biggest advantages to me.”
El Dorado High School provided a guided tour for staff of the Lincoln Parish Journal to get a first-hand look at what a covered practice facility may look like. Durrett had previously identified that El Dorado High School in Arkansas and Marshall High School in Texas were two schools that had comparable covered facilities to what Ruston would be looking to build.
Nestled atop a hill right by the high school campus, the purple Wildcat logo emblazoned at the top, the covered facility is even larger than imagined when seen in person.
Beneath the gabled roof that measures nearly 50 feet at its peak, an entire soccer field (120 x 65 yards) is painted along with the entire football field including goalposts. The sides are purposefully not covered all the way to the ground, allowing for air flow to keep the temperature cooler.
From dirt first being moved, construction took over 18-months to complete for El Dorado High, which included a period where the project had to be restarted due to wind damage from a severe thunderstorm. The facility was officially opened for use in 2022.
“The facility has been a game-changer for our school,” EDHS vice principal John Jameson said. “It makes it where we have extra space, not only for athletics, but for school over all. Our clubs use it. Our band uses it. We use it for P.E. classes. And it gives kids a chance to be outside without all the elements, because with the way it’s constructed, you get good wind flow. In the summer, even on days that we would normally have to shut down practice, we can still go since we’re covered.”
For Ruston High girls’ soccer coach Jacquelyn Bean, it will give her program chances to keep consistency with practices and drills, regardless of inclement weather.
“When practice is cancelled because of rain or a muddy field, the opportunities to improve for that day are gone,” Bean said. “Soccer in the south is a sport known for having to work around bad winter weather. So many of our preseason practices are canceled because of the rain and poor drainage. Because we share the stadium turf with American football and our pre-season begins as their season is wrapping up, we have to hold after school practice on the grass. We also have to share the grass field with Boys Soccer, we both have to work around the football team for our after school practice time on the turf.
“Using the grass field below the stadium, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature– it rains a lot in the winter in the south; when it does we have no place to practice. Having a designated covered space with turf to practice means more opportunities for quality practice and that means more opportunities for success. We practice at 6:00 am in the summer to avoid the heat from the sun. A covered space for our sport to practice is nothing short of a positive solution for our team.”
Ruston High School band director Walter Moss sees only positives should Ruston High School be able to construct the covered facility.
“I know we can use use it as a tool to better our performances,” Moss said. “The other huge benefit I see is for the entire community. For instances, we could have pep rallies in the venue that could accommodate more people and be out of possibly inclement weather.”
Moss said the covered facility could also solve the logistical problem off multiple sports or clubs needing access to the field at the same times.
“A lot of times, I have to be able to see from up high to see the pictures our marching band is creating on the field,” Moss added. “This would open up the stadium at times and give us access when we have not had access to times we may not have had before.”
Residents of Ruston School District No. 1 will be able to vote on the bond measure for the election to be held Saturday, April 27, 2024.
