Petition requests Jennings stadium be renamed
Published 9:02 am Friday, February 21, 2025
- An architecture rendering showing the home side view of the ticket booth and entrance plaza to Jerry Simmons stadium in Jennings. Improvement projects at the stadium include a new field house, concession stands, press box, new front facade with archway, new ticket booths, parking lot, fencing and lighting. (Special to the American Press)
A petition has been presented to the Jeff Davis Parish School Board requesting that Jerry Simmons Stadium be renamed back to Bulldog Stadium.
The petition, submitted this week, asks that the name change be included as part of the stadium’s ongoing renovation project.
“I believe that Bulldog Stadium is the appropriate name and started the petition to change the name back,” Chad Edmondson, a Jennings High School graduate and longtime Jennings Bulldogs supporter, said. “It has always been called Bulldog Stadium for as long as I can remember, until it was changed to Jerry Simmons Stadium around 1992-1994.”
While acknowledging Simmons’ contributions to local athletics, Edmondson noted that Simmons was not a local resident, is deceased, and has no family in the area.
Simmons coached for 20 years at Jennings High School and was principal until he retired in 1966. He was inducted into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1981.
Edmondson, whose family has held reserved seats at the stadium since 1958, believes that the stadium’s renovation and the need for a new sign present an ideal opportunity to restore the name to Bulldog Stadium. He hopes the change will instill community pride and is optimistic about the school board’s support.
“I just hope we can get it done before they get a new sign because then it would probably take another 10 years before they get another sign,” he said.
The petition contains 65 signatures, of which 58 were verified as registered voters of Ward II of the Jennings school district. The number exceeds the 50 signatures required by school board policy.
As per policy, notice of the proposed name change will be published throughout various channels, including the local newspaper, school website, parent newsletters, and the school’s marquee sign for one week.
The school board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee will hold a public input meeting later this month before making a final recommendation to the full board in March.
In the past, the school board has chosen to rename gyms and sports fields to honor local academic and athletic leaders.
