With shovels in hands and hard hats atop heads, McNeese State invited some big wigs to toss around a little dirt Thursday morning.

After much talk and speculation, the school officially broke ground on its new $31 million football press box.

The sharp-dressed folks didn’t put out a lot of sweat before turning the actual work over to the construction crews and moving indoors to talk about the project and escape the heat.

But the symbolism was there.

“It’s been a long haul from three years ago,” said McNeese president Daryl Burckel. “I would have never guessed back then we would be where we are now.

“I’m doing backflips inside.”

Thirty-six months before Thursday’s announcement Lake Charles was devastated by Hurricane Laura. McNeese’s campus took a massive hit from the storm with the football stadium’s iconic three-level press box taking direct impact.

It took some time before it was considered over 50 percent destroyed after beginning immediately called unusable. The media was moved to the Cowboy Club for the past three seasons.

Finally, work can begin in hopes of having the box up and running as soon as possible. It won’t be ready for this fall but 2024 is a hope with the following year more realistic.

“We don’t want to say one way or the other,” said Burckel. “We will be working hard to get it up and running as fast as possible.”

The new press box will include 25 suites, a 1,700-square-foot sky club, and an open patio area. The top two levels will extend from goal line to goal line.

Football operations will be on the second floor and will be the centerpiece of the McNeese athletic complex.

“It is a beacon of hope,” said Burckel. “It shows what can be possible. It will be an icon on our campus.”

Funding for the project came in three parts, insurance, damage funds, and $10 million in capital layout. It is part of an ongoing process of fixing the campus that received over $220 million in damages in 2020.

The press box is part of a $125 million that is going into new projects that include a student union, a baseball operations facility, a new bookstore, and other campus upgrades.

“This is big but it is just one of many projects being done now here at McNeese,” Burckel said. “Did it happen as fast as we would have liked, no. This proves patience pays off.”

McNeese officials hope that the new press box and suites will help raise both the profile and revenue flow into the football and athletic department.

Ultimately, the university wants it to be the latest in a series of moves that put the Cowboys in play for a possible move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision level with Conference USA the most likely landing spot.

“This press box is a game changer,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “The revenue this press box will deliver people have never seen before around here.

“We cut no corners. This will be as good as any in the country.”

Schroyer admitted there was a lot of debate and changes that went into the final look.

“Everybody got their say and there was a lot of lively discussion,” Schroyer said. “In the end, we got a press box that has great suites, facilities and is second to none.”

Second-year head coach Gary Goff is happy to have something to show recruits in the future.

“We have been having to sell dreams and what we want, now we will have something real for the kids and their families to see,” Goff said.

Over the last three seasons, McNeese has been forced to play in the spring because of COVID, at noon until last fall because of the storms knocking out the lights, and damaged facilities.

They are also coming off academic probation that helped account for three straight losing seasons.

“We have been through a lot here,” said Schroyer. “We are now coming out the other side and I don’t think McNeese athletics has ever been hotter.”

Schroyer added that there are no naming rights yet to either the new press box or the stadium itself but he is working on both. He expects they will be two separate deals.

Whether or not the rebuilding and upgrades lead to victories will be seen, but at least the Cowoby faithful will be able to have new stuff to look forward to.