Catholic High School Breaks Ground on New Stadium
Construction on the new athletic center at Padua Franciscan High School in Parma is underway. Ground was broken in late August for the facility, which is part of a $16 million capital campaign, “Achieving Excellence,” at the coed high school. Padua, established in 1961, is a ministry of the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The 29,000-square-foot addition will be connected to the southwest corner of the school near Padua Stadium. It will include a 14,000-square-foot gymnasium space that will provide two full-size competition courts for practice and tournaments as well as space for about 1,300 spectators. There also will be locker rooms with space for Padua girls, Padua boys, visiting teams and officials, a sports medicine room, athletic department offices, bathrooms, a Bruins Shop kiosk and concessions for both the stadium and gym.
Little Rock Cuts Ribbon on Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex
More than 700 fans packed Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex on Thursday night as Little Rock Soccer celebrated the official ribbon cutting of its new turf field. The Trojans matched the energy of the night with a hard-fought 1-1 draw, giving the record crowd plenty to cheer about on a historic evening for the program.
The night began with a special ceremony marking the official unveiling of the new surface. Head coach Kelly Farrell was joined by a host of community and university leaders, including Mayor Frank Scott Jr., City Directors, Chancellor Christina Drale, UA System President Jay Silveria, members of the UA System Board of Trustees, Athletics Director Frank Cuervo, and the Coleman family, for whom the complex is named. Baldwin & Shell, the company responsible for installing the new turf, was also recognized for their work in bringing the project to life.
Mayor Scott highlighted the importance of the new facility to both the university and the broader community:
"We're so excited about Chancellor Drale's leadership and what they're doing to bring state-of-the-art facilities to the state capitol city. It's a big deal for sports, a big deal for the state capitol city, and we're grateful to see this type of thing, particularly right here in the Asher University area, an area that we're working to revitalize. I'm a UA Little Rock alumnus, and so very excited about getting to see this. Over the past couple of years, Chancellor Drale, myself, other leaders within the business community, have been working to revitalize Asher. The great work that's going on, the new development that UA Little Rock is doing across the entire campus, the University District Housing Association, as well as this new state-of-the-art facility. It shows the millions of dollars that are being cemented right here."
Caddo, Miss., Plans $10M Pickleball Facility
After being heard by the Economic Development Committee, the Caddo Commission introduced an ordinance on Tuesday, that if approved, would appropriate $10 million for a state-of-the-art pickleball facility.
Questions are many among both commissioners and residents.
Eight commissioners voted to introduce the ordinance, while Commissioners Chris Kracman and Ron Cothran voted against. Commissioners John-Paul Young and Steffon Jones were absent for the vote. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for Sept. 18.
The multi-million-dollar pickleball facility project has been actively discussed since June, so that commissioners, citizens and the committee could get some answers to unresolved questions.
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