Baseball: Planning continues for reno work at The Tigue

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, Dec. 27, 2015

A rendering shows what plans for the new Tigue Moore Field look like. (Photo: Submitted)

University of Louisiana at Lafayette baseball coach Tony Robichaux spent time a few weeks ago helping to pick out carpet and tile.

It was not for a personal house renovation, not for construction of a man cave.

But progress does continue to be made on major renovation work at the home of Robichaux’s Ragin’ Cajuns, M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field, and selection of flooring options for new suites at the stadium is just one sign of how far things have come along.

“Our plans are to change our lights before Opening Day of this season, now that we know the footprint of the stadium,” Robichaux said, “and then try to get ready to where when the last out is made this season (in 2016) to be able to start the demo of the piece behind home plate, and get moving on the new project.”

What UL athletic director Scott Farmer previously had said was a hard-cap budget of University of Louisiana at Lafayette baseball coach Tony Robichaux spent time a few weeks ago helping to pick out carpet and tile.

It was not for a personal house renovation, not for construction of a man cave.

What UL athletic director Scott Farmer previously had said was a hard-cap budget of $10 million for the project could now creep north of that amount, Robichaux suggested.

All in all, though, costs should remain in the ballpark.

“We believe the project will take us over 10, to get what we want to get in,” he said.

Which is plenty, including a new club-level room behind home plate, along with 10 spectator suites and a new press box.

“We’re gonna be able to take care of everything behind home plate,” Robichaux said, “then be able to bring in two decks — or two platforms — down the third-base and the first-base side, which gives covering to the bleachers and gives us a platform in the back to where we can do maybe loge boxes, standing-room-only areas, concessions areas.

“Portable concessions can be up there to offset the traffic of the people in the bleachers. They can go up to get something, instead of going down and underneath.”

The stadium’s front entrance is expected to look completely different than it does now, with a new brick façade, and Robichaux said the club-level room probably will be able to “house over 100 people very easily.”

Connecting the two base-line decks is critical to the project, and could ultimately lead to renovations exceeding $10 million.

Robichaux isn’t sure what the final cost will be, but he doesn’t expect it to drastically exceed the original target price.

“Dr. Savoie (UL President Joseph Savoie) and (others) wanted to do the decks down the first- and third-base sides,” he said. “They thought that was important for potential loge boxes or standing-room-only.

“They also wanted to build out the club room and finish it, which is really nice because there’s a lot you can do with that club level and (when you) build out the suites.

“So when you add all that up, I’m sure we’re gonna go over 10 a little bit to get that in,” the Cajun coach added. “But they feel that was very important, because it gives us more inventory to have not only for season-ticket holders but also space when you host a Regional or a Super Regional. You can get more people into the stadium in those areas, especially the two decks.”

UL, recently ranked No. 6 nationally in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll, has been to the NCAA Tournament each of the past three seasons and to Super Regionals (the last step before making it to the College World Series) each of the past two seasons.

UL played host to Ole Miss in the 2014 Lafayette Super Regional at The Tigue, where the sold-out stands were packed for all three games in a best-of-three series.

“They’re not gonna go crazy (on spending). That’s for sure,” Robichaux said. “But I think what they’re gonna do is whatever it is to finish those areas, they feel that those areas are priority for long-term.”

Staying at $10 million might mean cutting corners and not properly finishing all priority projects, and that’s something no one wants.

“We’re still working as hard as we can to keep it cost-conducive,” Robichaux said, “but I believe the way they’re looking at it is ‘this is very important, so let’s put this in; this doesn’t drive the thing to $26 million, so we can do this.’

“I don’t think they’re gonna do something,” he added, “that’s gonna drive it another $5 million.”

One amenity not part of the current project is a much-discussed party deck, something inspired by what currently exists at the baseball stadium of fellow Sun Belt Conference-member South Alabama.

It could be constructed at a later date, Robichaux suggested, but not with funds raised as part of an athletic facilities master plan that also includes an already constructed athletic performance center, already concluded and future planned major renovation at the Cajun Field football stadium, track-and-field/soccer facility renovations and various other projects.

“The party deck we’re gonna try to do out in right field — that’s not part of this project,” he said. “That’s a separate project that we’re working on.”

As for rumors that the party deck might even include a swimming pool, that’s just not so.

“Nah,” Robichaux said, “that’s just people gone wild.”

Robichaux’s Cajuns open their 2016 season Feb. 19 at home against Sam Houston State.

Only when that season is done will project-contractor The Lemoine Company begin the bulk of its work.

Hopes are that the renovation will be done prior to the start of UL’s 2017 season, but it remains to be seen if that can be accomplished in full.

“The Lemoine Company feels it’s gonna be a definite test, but they feel they’re ready,” Robichaux said. “They can start, in April and May, to use one of the parking lots for staging.

“You’ve got to remember if we host a (2016) Regional or a Super Regional that pushes them back. I can’t go as far as to say I hope we don’t hope a Regional or a Super Regional, but if that’s on the road that of course speeds their process up.

“So there’s a little indefinite time of when theycan start. They feel that, worst-case scenario, they can have it ready for Opening Day (in 2017),” he added. “If for some reason they cannot — they can’t control weather — there are some things we can do. We can play a series on the road if we have to.”

Until then, there are all sorts of decisions to be made.

Others, however, already have been.

“The last meeting was on suite details — picking carpet, picking tile,” Robichaux said.

“We want to try to get it right, because you’re not gonna have, really, a second chance. And there’s a lot of other things we’re trying to do in this. We want to keep our atmosphere, because we have a good atmosphere here.

“We want to keep it connected to cooking and food and fun, because that’s our culture here. We want to try to keep that in the ballpark,” he added. “We also don’t want to take the (ticket) prices and run people out that have been here for a long time. We really want to just try to create more (seating) inventory at different levels — kind of like when you go to a pro game.”

All that, though, is being balanced with basic economic realities.

“But we’re also trying to create the stadium to be a revenue-generator … because the economy is always going to fluctuate, the state budget is always going to fluctuate,” Robichaux said.

“I’m not gonna be here forever,” he added. “I want the next coaching staff to have enough inventory to generate revenue.”

A money stream will be needed to simply maintain the park, and to enhance it later.

At some point, though, the hope is that the project essentially will pay for itself.

“If everything goes good, who knows? You might pay it off before Opening Day (in 2017),” Robichaux said. “That would be best-case scenario.”