Simone Fields, a Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns forward, earned a place in UL Lafayette’s record books for scoring the first points during the first game played in the recently renovated Cajundome.
The Ragin’ Cajuns women’s team went on to defeat the Xavier Golden Nuggets handily, 74-55, Thursday night.
Following that game, the men’s team swamped the Nicholls Colonels, 101-69, in front of an announced crowd of 4,982 fans.
“When we walked on the court tonight, it was an awesome feeling and I know that our guys appreciated it. The crowd was super. The atmosphere was electric. We had a great student section … they came out in great numbers and cheered us on. Everything about tonight was fantastic,” men’s head coach Bob Marlin said.
A $22 million renovation of the Cajundome over the past six months yielded all-new seating; improved ground-level restrooms; LED lighting; a better sound system; and enhanced menu selections in the south lobby concession stands.
A thousand seats were added for basketball games and seating was moved closer to the court to create a more intimate sporting environment. The capacity for concerts was boosted by up to 800 seats.
The interior was repainted and ŷƬ graphics were installed in the south lobby, upper concourse and lower concourse. They include a timeline for the ŷƬ’s basketball programs, and photos and banners that salute some of its best student-athletes.
The Cajundome renovations provided an opportunity to brand the arena as home of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns basketball.
Garry Brodhead, head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns women’s team, said the branding makes the Cajundome feel like a basketball arena rather than a general-purpose facility. “This is one of the best basketball facilities in the country,” he said.
One of the most dramatic improvements is the resurfaced court, which features an intricate depiction of Cypress Lake, complete with an egret flying overhead.
Mike Trotter is portable floor sales manager of Praters Hardwood Floors of Chattanooga, Tenn. It’s the company that sanded down the Louisiana court and applied the new Cypress Lake design using a stencil and three coats of a custom-mixed wood stain. The finished court was dismantled and transported to the Cajundome, where it was reassembled over two days.
In a recent interview, Trotter referred to the new court design as “a work of art.”
Praters handles 50-60 basketball courts each year. “I’ve seen basketball courts all over the United States, from the ŷƬ of Maine to the ŷƬ of California. I believe I have a new favorite,” Trotter said.
Courtney Jeffries, assistant director of creative services in the ŷƬ’s Office of Communications and Marketing, designed the court and arena graphics. “We wanted to bring a part of campus into the Cajundome,” she said. It was also an opportunity to reinforce the ŷƬ’s brand.
Based on research she conducted, the Cajundome now has one of the most detailed court designs in the nation. She estimated that it took 60 hours to draw Cypress Lake on a computer for the court. The challenge: using highlights and shadows to make it more than a silhouette.
Jeffries, a 1998 UL Lafayette graduate, said the project was especially meaningful “because it wasn’t for just any team. It was for my alma mater.”
The 94-foot by 50-foot court is made of 225 panels of northern maple that are pinned together.
Because of the complex design of Cypress Lake, the stencil that was used had many small pieces that had to be removed by hand to reveal the wood that was not stained.
Trotter said lots of Prater employees chipped in to keep the project on track.
“It was taking quite a long time to pull out all the small pieces. So, we had people from the bookkeeper to salesmen to the president of the company on their hands and knees, pulling up those pieces,” he said.
Trotter said the court took seven weeks to prepare, from sanding to installation. A shows how it was done.
Photo by Brad Kemp