Construction officially started June 22 on Raising Cane’s 9th Ward Stadium at LCMC Health Field, a long-planned multi-use athletic facility adjacent to George Washington Carver High School at 4300 Almonaster Boulevard in New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward.
Mayor Helena Moreno, Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves, LCMC Health CEO Greg Feirn, Congressman Troy Carter, and Councilmember Eugene J. Green joined school officials, students, and community advocates for the groundbreaking ceremony.
The facility will feature an artificial turf playing surface branded as LCMC Health Field, grandstand seating for approximately 3,700 spectators, a press box, scoreboard, locker rooms, concessions, restrooms, parking, and landscaped grass berms. The stadium will serve as the anchor home field for Carver High School’s football and soccer teams and will remain available to all NOLA Public Schools for games, graduations, concerts, and community events. Construction is expected to wrap by summer 2027.
The project is funded through a combination of state capital outlay, federal earmarks, city council contributions, voter-approved bonds from the November 2025 Proposition 2 ballot measure, and private fundraising. The nonprofit board, led by former City Council president Arnie Fielkow, has raised approximately $15.8 million to date. TKTMJ Inc. — also the general contractor on the Bayou Phoenix redevelopment of the former Six Flags site — has been selected as the construction contractor at a bid of $10 million, with remaining funds earmarked for project enhancements and long-term maintenance.
The naming rights deals that anchor the private funding were formally executed by the Orleans Parish School Board on June 4. Raising Cane’s committed $2 million as the official stadium partner, while LCMC Health committed $600,000 in exchange for naming rights to the playing surface. The groundbreaking also launched the \”Leave Your Legacy\” brick campaign, allowing individuals, businesses, and community organizations to purchase personalized engraved bricks at $150 each for permanent placement at the stadium. The campaign’s initial phase targets 1,000 bricks.
A track-and-field component originally included in the stadium plan has been deferred pending additional fundraising, though project leaders say they remain committed to building it out. The stadium will become the fifth athletic venue available to middle and high school athletes in Orleans Parish and the first home field owned or managed by NOLA Public Schools itself. Supporters at the groundbreaking said the facility, located in the Desire neighborhood, is expected to draw visitors for sporting events and create commercial spillover in the surrounding Upper Ninth Ward real estate market.
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