The parish and Shell Norco held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated Bethune Park Thursday, Aug. 21 at 9:30 a.m. The event took place under the new basketball pavilion at 301 Bethune Street in Norco.
The renovations, which took about a year to complete, include a covered basketball court, pavilion, a playground, batting cages, upgraded baseball and multiuse fields and improved dugouts. Commemorative signage honoring Mary M. Bethune High School has also been installed.
The ribbon cutting included remarks from Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation Duane Foret, Parish President Matthew Jewell, Shell Norco President Tammy Little, and Councilman Bob Fisher. Pastor Scott, a local pastor in Norco, blessed the courts.
To celebrate the renovations, the parks and recreation department took on Shell Norco team in a friendly basketball free-throw contest.
The renovation was funded by a collaboration between the parish and Shell Norco, which provided a $500,000 donation. The project marks the first major upgrade to the park in 25 years.
Grayson Touchard, a spokesperson for the parks and recreation department, said Shell Norco has long been a committed community partner, and their contribution made the renovation possible.
“With the leadership of Tammy Little, their support helped fund key improvements like the covered basketball court and the accessible playground,” Touchard said. “This partnership reflects the strong connection between Shell and the Norco community.”
Touchard said Bethune Park is for everyone.
“It’s a space designed to honor the past while providing new opportunities for play, recreation, and community connection,” she said. “We’re excited for residents to come out and make new memories here.”
The park will be open to the public during standard parish park hours. Most amenities, such as the basketball court and batting cage, are available on a first-come, first-served basis, but organized teams and events may require reservations through the parks and recreation department.
The renovated park sits on the old location of Bethune High School, a segregated public school that opened in 1952 to serve Black students on the East Bank. Before the school opened, these students had to travel to New Orleans for high school education. The school was a result of a legal challenge to the parish’s school system for its lack of a high school for Black students.
The school was named after the prominent educator and civil rights leader, Mary McLeod Bethune.
In 1969, as part of the desegregation of parish schools, the Bethune High School closed. Its students were then moved to the neighboring Destrehan High School.
Touchard said the park’s new sign was modeled after the original, with a rendering of the former school that once stood on the property. The sign was created by Bourg Signs, with Hammill Construction handling the installation and brickwork.
In 2006, the park and its amenities were donated to the parks and recreation department by Shell Oil Company, Motiva Enterprises, LLC, Shell Chemical LP, and SCOGI Louisiana Holdings LLC.
