The Jeff Davis Parish School Board’s Finance Committee accepted a $3 million bid Tuesday for Jerry Simmons stadium improvements that include a new field house, press box and front facade.

The Finance Committee is asking the full board to award the contract to Alfred Palma general contractors of Lake Charles at its 6 p.m. meeting today, Nov. 21. The company was one of five that submitted bids for the project in October.

Plans for the improvement project include a new field house, press box, concession stand, a new front archway entrance with a ticket booth for the home team and a visitor ticket booth on the east side with a new south parking lot. The project will also include new perimeter fencing, LED lighting, concrete work and relocating utilities underground.

Future projects include addressing upgrades to the restrooms on both home side and visitors side to possibly include new lights, stalls and sinks.

“This will be a beautiful addition to the Jennings school district and the City of Jennings,” Superintendent John Hall said of the project. “The city has made huge improvements over the years with streets and the downtown area so this will definitely be a place that will catch your eye and make a lot of people proud of their school.”

“It’s one of those things that students and families are proud of whenever their children get to be on that field and play on that field,” he continued. “These improvements will be there for 60 plus years, so they will be able to be used by several generations of students that come through.”

Several of the items included in the upgrades are safety oriented, including the field house.

“Having a place where both teams can go is important,” he said. “They were running to James Ward (school) if something would happen. Now they would have a place to go to get out of the weather when there is lightning.”

New lighting and exterior fencing are also being made to address safety issues during events.

A letter of intent will be signed giving the contractor the ability to start the project.

“Once we’re through with activities at the field the work should be able to start,” Hall said.

The project should not affect school graduation ceremonies in May. Any areas under construction at that time could be roped or fenced off, Hall said.

The stadium is expected to be the final phase of a 20-year bond cycle to fund improvements to school facilities in Jennings. Previous projects included a parking lot improvement and safety upgrades at Jennings Elementary and Jennings High schools.

The project is being funded by Ward II sales tax revenue, contingency funds for Jennings schools and the remaining construction funds for Ward II school projects.