By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Mike Tregre, president of St. John Parish Recreation, is a man with a vision. That vision stems from memories of his youth and many a Friday night spent at the stadium behind the former Leon Godchaux High School.

As such, he dreams of resurrecting the field, which has lain dormant for many years. Unlike so many dreams, however, he intends to make this one a reality.

“Hopefully this is a project that can be dealt with now and quickly,” said Tregre.

The first step in making the field usable has already been taken. Over the past couple of weeks, Zachary Richard and his company, R & R Salvage, took down the old metal bleachers lining the sides of the field. He did this at no charge to the school system, merely taking the steel to sell for scrap.

Tregre has also put some other wheels in motion by meeting with Floyd Luster, an architect with CSRS, the school board’s consulting firm, who broke down the costs of “resurrecting” Leon Godchaux Stadium. His breakdown included revamping the concession stand, building restrooms and installing new bleachers, a scoreboard and goal posts, although Tregre realizes some of these projects may have to wait for the time being. He said if the field reopens in the fall, the only restrooms will be port-o-lets, and parents will have to bring folding chairs to sit on the sidelines.

Tregre also spoke with Sheila Butler of Entergy about getting the lights surrounding the field powered up.

The reasons for Tregre’s ambition are two-fold.

The first is that any club football league must now use East St. John’s Joe Keller Stadium. This has caused the field there to be overused and sometimes left it in less-than-stellar condition for the Wildcats. Also, when renovations to the stadium and track begin, these clubs will have nowhere to play.

“If the kids can’t play there, where will they play?” Tregre asked rhetorically.

He said there are no other suitable properties in the parish.

Tregre also believes establishing a home base for parish leagues will popularize them and help keep children off the streets and out of trouble. He said firmly establishing league play may also help keep some talent in the parish. “It could be a feeder program for high schools,” he said.

Despite his tireless efforts, Tregre knows he cannot do it all alone. As such, he approached the St. John Parish School Board about partnering with him in tackling the project. The board voted unanimously to enter into an informal partnership. Tregre will return at the first meeting next month with some more definite figures as well as what might ultimately be required of the board.

Tregre hopes to have the field in usable condition by the start of football season in the fall.

“We believe the community will benefit from the impact of this program,” he said.