City Park's Pan American stadium is getting $3M upgrade with new turf donated by Saints

This year, hundreds of athletes competing at Pan American Stadium will play on brand new turf as part of a $3 million renovation project at the venue in the city’s largest park.

Work began earlier this month on phase 1, which includes replacing the deteriorating turf and installing new goal posts, netting, a public address system and scoreboard, the City Park Conservancy said this month in a news release.

Officials anticipate the project will be finished before Sept. 5, the start of the new high school football season.

Located on Zachary Taylor Drive, the stadium serves more than 30 high school, professional and community sports programs throughout New Orleans, said Rebecca Dietz, the newly appointed president and CEO of City Park Conservancy. 

The stadium is also home to the New Orleans Jesters, a member of the National Premier Soccer League, and a number of adult leagues who play weekly.

The total cost for all three phases is an expected $3 million, covered by private donors, federal funding and a turf donation from the New Orleans Saints. 

“This generous gift from the Saints not only improves the quality of the field that thousands of student and adult athletes will play on, but it is also the catalyst for the entire Pan Am renovation project, which will modernize and refurbish this important New Orleans institution," she said in the press release. 

Built in 1973, the last major renovation took place in 2008. The stadium seats about 4,500 people, according to the release.

FEMA funding awarded after Hurricane Ida will go toward new lighting in the second phase, which should be completed by next spring, the release said.

The Conservancy is fundraising for the third phase, which will tackle parking improvements, bleacher repairs and locker-room and bathroom renovations.

“City Park deserves to host world-class facilities and events, and this is a step towards those efforts," City Council member and City Park Improvement Association Commissioner Joe Giarrusso said in the release.

That organization oversees programming, fundraising and membership management, while the Conservancy manages the day-to-day operations of the 1,300-acre park.

City Council member and Improvement Association commissioner Eugene Green said the renovations are overdue.

"Pan American Stadium's diverse and frequent uses make it such an important part of the recreational activity of many, many thousands of athletes and spectators each year,” he said in the release.