The parish will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for East Bank Bridge Park on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. to mark the completion of a $4,760,000 renovation.
The upgrades to the park include two new pickleball courts, two new tennis courts, a new basketball court, a concrete parking lot, two turfed fields, new scoreboards, LED lighting throughout the park, a new batting cage, improved drainage, new backstops and updated fencing.
Grayson Touchard, a spokesperson for the parks and recreation department, said it has been nearly 16 years since the parish had significantly upgraded the park.
“We’re proud to provide these upgrades for our community to enjoy,” Touchard said.
Parish President Matthew Jewell, Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation Duane Foret and local council members will speak at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Representatives from Valero, which donated $500,000 to the renovations of the park, will also speak.
Touchard said that, after Hurricane Ida, Valero wanted to give back in a meaningful way.
“Together we decided that investing in East Bank Bridge Park would have a lasting impact on local families and recreation,” she said.
Following the ceremony, a priest from St. Charles Borromeo will offer a blessing of the fields. Gabrielle Touchard will perform the national anthem. After celebratory first pitches are thrown on both fields, recreation teams will kick off the first games at the park.
The ceremony will begin at Fields 1 and 2 at 13244 River Road in Destrehan.
Touchard said the Louisiana Department of the Treasury allocated $750,000 to the project. The parish contributed nearly $2.5 million from parish funds.
The renovation comes as the parish moves toward a centralized park system, with more multiuse, regional facilities and fewer, smaller neighborhood play spaces. Parish officials made the decision to focus on park quality over park quantity after the parks and recreation department’s 2020 master plan highlighted the need for reducing the number of underutilized parks and parks with “low recreational value.”
The idea is that larger, regional parks will offer something for everyone and be of overall higher quality, even though many residents will need a vehicle to access the parks.
The parish recently renovated Fashion Playground with new equipment. A new playground is also being installed behind the fields at Landry Alternative Center in Hahnville.