Bleachers demolished as Cougar Stadium renovations get underway
Published 2:48 pm Monday, June 2, 2025
(Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
(Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
(Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
(Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
Crystal Stevenson / American Press The ticket booths at Cougar Stadium will also be demolished and replaced.(Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
(Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
The remaining fragments of the bleaches for the visitors side of Cougar Stadium are cleared Friday afternoon. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
The remaining fragments of the bleaches for the visitors side of Cougar Stadium are cleared Friday afternoon. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
A little over a year ago, a $30 million bond proposition for the Ward 3 Recreation District was approved by Calcasieu Parish voters. The measure was to fund new construction and upgrades at 12 of the recreation district’s facilities.
Today, those upgrades can be seen around the parish — most recently at the Alvin Dark and Cougar stadiums.
Kip Texada, executive director of the Ward 3 Recreation District said plans for Cougar Stadium — located on 1st Avenue — include adding turf to the football field, a new track, bathrooms, concessions, ticket booths, new bleachers on the visitors side and a new lighting system.
The demolition of the bleachers began last week.
“It’s almost going to be a brand-new stadium,” Texada said. “We’re demoing it but we’re going to bring it back up.”
Ward 3 Recreation Center took over the management of the stadium — formerly used by the now-closed Lake Charles-Boston High School — nearly 10 years ago.
“We have a track program and we asked if we could take the stadium over when Lake Charles-Boston closed,” he said. “The School Board said, ‘Yes, if you keep it up and insure it.’ So that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Texada said improvements are also being made to the Alvin Dark Stadium on 5th Street. The bleachers have already been demolished and bidding is set to begin on construction in mid-June. A new scoreboard will also be installed at the stadium.
