Reggie Bush Planning Refurbishment for Gormley
Plans call for field this year, turf next

His rookie season is three months away, but Saints tailback Reggie Bush already is making an impact on the New Orleans sports scene.

Today, Reggie Bush and City Park officials will announce his plans to help refurbish Tad Gormley Stadium, allowing high school football to return one year after Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the facility.

"We're thrilled Reggie stepped up to 'adopt' the field," said Bob Becker, CEO and president of City Park. "This is somebody who understands the importance of football and sports activities at this time in the city's recovery. It's real special to have somebody who has a real appreciation for how these athletic events benefit the children of our community. I just think that's terrific."

With the help of Adidas, Reggie Bush will contribute $86,000 this year to help seed the field and maintain it throughout the season. Adidas will donate $50,000 on Reggie Bush's behalf as part of his endorsement deal with the company. Reggie Bush will donate the remaining $36,000.

By next year, Reggie Bush and City Park hope to raise enough money to install Field Turf, which will attract soccer events as well as football games to Gormley.

The Field Turf will cost between $550,000 and $750,000, according to Reggie Bush's marketing agent, Mike Ornstein. Ornstein also said the Saints plan to be involved in that project as well as corporate sponsors.

"This was just a great opportunity to be active in the community," said Reggie Bush, who said the cause was a natural fit when he learned that Tad Gormley Stadium was the only field available to roughly 20 Orleans Parish high schools, both public and private. "As opposed to just putting the money into a fund and hoping something gets done with it, I'm trying to do things that make a difference right then and there."

Last month, Reggie Bush and Adidas made a $50,000 donation to Holy Rosary Academy and High School to help save the school from being shut down.

Tad Gormley Stadium has been in dire straits since being buried by 4½ feet of water and losing its electrical system during Katrina.

The electrical system still needs to be repaired with just two months remaining before the high school season kicks off. City Park officials have scheduled 39 football games this fall and expect at least seven schools -- Jesuit, Brother Martin, St. Augustine, Holy Cross, McDonogh 35, McMain and De La Salle -- to host games at Gormley.

Becker said City Park officials are working closely with the state to get the stadium ready in time for the season, but the field was one of the major hurdles. He said it was unclear how much of the funding for repairing the field would be paid by insurance and that it wouldn't be addressed any time soon.

"We couldn't wait too much longer if we expected to hold football this fall," Becker said. "Getting someone to step up and make a contribution to help us get back to playing this year, we think is important not only to the park but to the community to get some sort of normalcy back."

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