by Malcolm Butler
The latest phase of Cedar Creek’s athletic strategic plan is almost complete as the basketball gymnasium — affectionately known as the Brick House — has received a facelift, modernizing the facility while still maintaining some of its traditional elements.
Lance Hall, a member of the Cedar Creek Board of Directors, said that the upgrades to the facility which began in late May when school let out for the summer should be complete by the November 5 “Brick House Bash.”
He confirmed that it was important to keep some of the traditional elements of the gym while modernizing it.
“I reached out to guys who played here during my time at Ruston High,” said Lance Hall. “The Jerry Vascocus and the Paul Rileys. I talked to Dickie Crawford. Keeping the authentic brick was critical to the design element. This is who we are. It’s intimate. It’s what makes the Brick House special.
“We wanted to make it modern but still connected to the history of it.”
The project includes pull out bleachers, new floor, a painted ceiling, new automatic goals, new scoreboards, and a new graphics package. The only remaining aspects of the project are the installment of the new scoreboards and the graphics.
The new additions to the gymnasium will allow for more flexibility for PE classes as well as basketball practices, as the six new automatic goals (four on the sides) will allow for “full court” practices.
“One of the big things is now they coaches can go sideways with two courts,” said Lance Hall. “That opens up so much for the juniors highs and middle school and even pee wee. It makes it so much more functional as we are building the basketball programs.
“The way it operated before, you would have girls on one half and boys on the other half at the same time. You couldn’t even practice full court.”
Boys AD Gene Vandenlangenberg said the capacity to the gym will not change.
“The capacity pretty much stayed the same,” said Vandenlangenberg. “We are still a little over 500 which is where we needed to be.”
Cedar Creek girls coach Katie Hall said that her players are excited about the new look to their home facility.
“They were very patient through this whole process because it took a little longer than we originally thought,” said Katie Hall. “When we finally got in there, they were all looking around, grinning. They were excited, and it made that first practice really upbeat and fun.”
Katie Hall said her players did a little team exercise at half court during the replacement of the floor (see photo below).
“Before they put the new floor down, the girls all signed the concrete at mid-court and they each put a little bible verse that they picked out,” said Katie Hall. “That was pretty special. I loved that.
“It’s something new and they are excited and want to take care of it.”
At the start of the summer of 2023, the school began the first phases of the strategic plan, including new irrigation and drainage at the football field, re-sodding the football field, replacing all the lights at football, baseball and softball. This past summer they installed a new digital scoreboard and videoboard at Origin Bank Stadium.
“A lot of the commitment to the stability of coaches, the infrastructure, the progress of facilities, the foundation of programs from pee wee to middle school to high school is about creating an environment where our best athletes see a future, see winning, see a tradition and want to be a part of it for a long time,” said Lance Hall.
Lance Hall said the vision for the school’s athletic programs has been supported by increases in fundraising, including its new Premier Partner program. A total of 18 Premier Partners are investing $10,000 per year which has allowed the corporate sponsorships to go from $64,000 per year to approximately $260,000.
“They want to be connected to the Cedar Creek brand, but they also want to see a commitment to growing the school, growing the sports programs, and to improving facilities,” said Lance Hall. “We have not had a single corporation say not so us when we have asked them to become a Premier Partner. People want to be part of growth and to be a part of something that is successful.”
The next phase of the strategic plan includes the construction of the 11,000 square foot sports performance center which will include weight rooms, offices, turf areas, as well as an indoor pitching area for baseball. The land to the east of the football stadium has been cleared and Lance Hall said that they will go to the city for permits within the next month or so.
“As soon as we get the permits, the steel will take 12 weeks and then it won’t be a long construction process,” said Lance Hall. “I think we should be in there by this summer.”
Future additions also include a new baseball locker room attached to the third base dugout, repurposed existing facilities for the basketball operations center, as well as a alternate basketball practice gym. He said that he hopes the entirety of these projects will be complete within the next three years.
Lance Hall also said a fundraising campaign would begin within the next three to four months that would generate additional revenue that would go towards the campus and teachers.
“This isn’t just about athletics,” said Lance Hall. “When we do our fundraising campaign, a portion of it will be about teacher pay, a portion will be about upgrades to other areas of the campus. It’s not all going to be sports related.
“We are also going to be able to give back a number of classrooms to the teachers that have been used by some of the teams in recent years,” he said. “Our goal is to grow enrollment at Cedar Creek, and the classroom space will be needed in order to handle that growth.”
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