By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Drive by James Street near the campus of Ruston High School and you’ll see dirt being moved near Lee Avenue and a retaining wall being built on Everett Street north of Hoss Garrett Stadium.
It’s the early phases of the covered pavilion project that was part of the bond proposal for Ruston School District No. 1, passed in April of 2024.
Clark Construction out of Little Rock, Ark., was awarded the bid for the project, slated to cost around $6 million.
“It’s been about three or four weeks that they’ve started doing some stuff,” Ruston Head coach Jerrod Baugh said. “There’s quite a bit of ground work that’s getting done just under the surface (of the old practice field). I’ve been really pleased with (Clark Construction) — it’s been really easy to work with them. We look forward to it being completed. I know it’s not an immediate thing, but I kids and coaches are excited. I think community people should be excited, and I think it’s going to be really good for us.”
Baugh expects the construction to be completed around April of 2026 — just in time for spring football next year.
The construction will be built on top of the current grass practice field next to the Chick Childress Field House. There will be a full 120-yard turf for the 100-yard field and two 10-yard end zones. Seventy-five of those yards will be covered by the construction with the rest open to the full outside, which will be placed close to the north-side entrance to Hoss Garrett Stadium.
The top of the pavilion will be 55-feet high and will be painted Ruston’s classic red.
In the meantime, however, Ruston is down a practice field, meaning teams and school groups will need to be collaborative during the construction phase.
”It’s quite a bit to juggle and find some times, but coaches have already been good on trying to make sure we’re timing it out,” Baugh said. “Coaches (from all sports and clubs) have done a really good job organizing and finding time to practice.”
See below for renderings of the covered pavilion project by Michael L. Walpole, Architect, L.L.C.
