NEW ORLEANS — The “Field of Dreams” was just that to people living in the 9th Ward. Now, it looks like that dream may soon come true.
Coach at George Washington Carver High School Darian Chesnut says not having a stadium in their community has been difficult for his team.
“We go through a lot to transport these kids back and forth, but to build your program, you have to do what you have to do,” Chesnut said.
The 9th Ward was promised a football stadium 15 years ago, two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area, but that promise had never came to fruition.
“It means everything,” 9th Ward Stadium Board Member Roy Glapion said. “It means everything. This community has been deprived of a football stadium since Hurricane Katrina.”
Glapion says this is bigger than just a stadium for a neighborhood that has been through so much.
“Oh my God it’s going to impact the whole city, not just this area. You’re going to have economic growth. This stadium will create economic growth in this area.”
Through federal, state, and private sector funding, the board has raised ten million dollars to build, and they’re close to meeting their goal.
“We can build a stadium, let me rephrase that. We will build a stadium, but we can build THE stadium, with an additional two million dollars.
After 15 years of waiting, this community is just two million dollars away from turning their dream of a place to gather in the community into a reality.
The board hopes to secure funding and complete construction by 2025.
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