Interview with Gerald Hebert, Ragin' Cajuns Fundraiser

[Cajun Express]

_ In their defense, I had also read that it was taking longer than expected because, after some soil sampling, it was found that the sign was going to be too heavy or something with that design.

Nonetheless, according to DC, this "$200k" sign is going to be "huge", and will be a part of a "2-story tall brick structure"...and we're going to surround this thing with a painted chain-link fence. _

How much money do you think it will take to put a wrought iron fence around Cajun Field, or at least Congress and Bertrand? Somebody has to pay for that, I think the sign will generate money a fence won't. Capital improvements needed that will do more for getting better players. First a top notch academic center, next dorms that are not a plus instead of a minus.

Everybody likes nice fan facilities but in reality the fans will overlook a lot if they get what they come for, success on the field. That always has to be the top priority when there are not enough dollars for everything we need. A nice fence around Cajun Field is very low on my priorities for fans. How about bathrooms that are not dripping over, enough restrooms for women, elevate the student bathrooms so they are not walking in water to get to the bathroom. Improved press box, improved lighting, a true jumbo-tron television. Yea I want a wrought iron fence but will settle on chain link until if I can get all the other stuff first.

I do believe this really is a case of limited resources coming into play.

[shof]

I'm with you regarding the fence. If you want to "pretty it up" some in the immediate vicinity of the fancy new sign; that would make sense, but wrought iron completely around the facility would be way too expensive right now. Someday, perhaps. Painting the chain link black should help.

[rhineaux]

_ How much money do you think it will take to put a wrought iron fence around Cajun Field, or at least Congress and Bertrand? Somebody has to pay for that, I think the sign will generate money a fence won't. Capital improvements needed that will do more for getting better players. First a top notch academic center, next dorms that are not a plus instead of a minus.

Everybody likes nice fan facilities but in reality the fans will overlook a lot if they get what they come for, success on the field. That always has to be the top priority when there are not enough dollars for everything we need. A nice fence around Cajun Field is very low on my priorities for fans. How about bathrooms that are not dripping over, enough restrooms for women, elevate the student bathrooms so they are not walking in water to get to the bathroom. Improved press box, improved lighting, a true jumbo-tron television. Yea I want a wrought iron fence but will settle on chain link until if I can get all the other stuff first.

I do believe this really is a case of limited resources coming into play. _

Trust me, we're on the same page.

I don't know how much that fence would cost, that's why I asked. but I'd also like to know how much that painting is costing, just to have a comparison. I trust Gerald and the work he's doing, and at the end of the day, I would imagine that the differences in costs are probably great enough to make us side-step the overall replacement of the fence for a while.

The question I'm trying to ask is, is it worth spending the money on this fence painting? that's not a revenue generator, nor will it add much aesthetically, considering other options. I don't know how much it costs, or if there was some part of it that was donated, or whatever. And depending on those things, we may be getting it done for really cheap. but, Gerald said he "recruited funds", so that would lead me to believe that he got some boosters to ante up a bit for this project, though that's just my assumption. Knowing a little bit about how Gerald works, there's a good chance that I'm wrong and that he's either had the materials or labor donated. But, if he did get funds for this, would you rather that he go out and recruit some other funds to build a new fence? and possibly be able to match some of the donations with some of the other revenue that's coming in from his other projects? or tell these donors that we really need these dollars to be put towards other projects like dorms, etc., and ask if they would mind if we reallocated those dollars.

Using Google Earth, I estimated that the distance from the edge of the track facility (starting at the edge of the residential lot that borders the track) all the way around to Congress/Bertrand to Congress/Cajundome Blvd to Cajundome/Reinhardt and then down to the edge of the Ath Dept building. this distance is about 5400', give or take a couple 100'. And if you add in the area around the practice fields, from the IPF around to Lamson Field, that's another 1400' give or take. To me, we could easily do something like what he's already done with the main brick entrances and selling off advertising space. For just the area around Cajun Field, perhaps one brick "post" every 100', would be ~50 posts, with a sign for a business at each one at $5k per year, would be $250k per year (although, that would be a lot of freaking ads to sell). (And after a little research, this sort of revenue could probably pay for the thing in less than 2, maybe 3 years) The cost of the fence would likely be high, but we might be able to work something out to get it at a lower rate or have some of it donated, or get the bricks donated, or some labor donated to help with costs, or something. but, after a few years, the operation would have recouped all of it's money, and it would be another revenue generator.

Another thing that I would like to know about is having these sorts of things funded by the school itself. There are plenty of things that they could do to improve facilities, without making the already underfunded athletic department pick up the entire tab. I don't know, but I'd appreciate it if someone would enlighten me, if the school is only able to put X amount of dollars into athletics, as regulated by the state, whether that be for improving facilites, beautification, etc. If UL has already given the athletic dept the max amount of dollars they can give, can they come back and say that "this is not just a part of the athletic complex, but it also is part of the school, and we want to put $X into beautification of this school's athletic complex." Or, is the only financial interaction between the school and the athletic dept, happen when they allocate those dollars, and there are no other financial contributions that can be made?

Again, this isn't a gripe. I understand that there are more pressing needs than a fence around the area. You're right, nobody's coming to Cajun Field for the fence, but it would aid in increasing perception, and I think we all agree that the perception of the school, in the eyes of many in Lafayette and surrounding areas, could use a major overhaul. That being said, I rec'd more than one call from people who aren't really Cajun supporters (at least not to the degree that we are) when the IPF was going up, commenting on the size of it and how impressed they were with it. That was a project that actually served a purpose and will help with recruiting and on-field results, as well as offered a change in perception.

I guess I'm going to follow the advice I've given to others before, and give Gerald a shout later on today to offer my questions, comments, and suggestions.

[HoustonCajun]

_ I agree. I know it would be very expensive to replace the chain link fence with nicer fencing, but I really think a painted chain link would look worse than what is there now.

Any news on that electronic sign that was supposed to be placed at the corner of Bertrand and Congress? I want to say it has been over 1 year since it was talked about on this board. _

Why do we need a fence at all? There is no fence around the CajunDome. It is a waste of money and more upkeep than needed.

[cajunlove]

_ The over $200 thousand dollar sign is a done deal, they are either waiting on the sign or the contractor to construct the huge two story tall brick structure that will hold the sign.


DaddyCajun _

I believe you man. I was just poking fun.

When the sign gets built, it will be sweet. Sweet.

[CajunRed]

I am somewhat amazed at the number of posts concerning a "fence". I must be missing something...

[rhineaux]

_ I am somewhat amazed at the number of posts concerning a "fence". I must be missing something... _

It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought it up...I didn't mean for it to turn so critical, especially on my part.

My apologies to all.