The CAJUNDOME is home to the Sugar Bowl LHSAA Boys’ Basketball State Championships once again. The association announced plans yesterday to move the event to Lafayette after 12 years in Lake Charles. Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission President Ben Berthelot says the community could not be more excited.
“There’s a lot of pride, a lot of history with this event. It’s an event that our people really love, and they support it,” Berthelot said.
Lafayette hosted the event from 1997 to 2011 and set a six-day attendance record of nearly 70,000 fans in 1999. Berthelot says the CAJUNDOME is the best venue in the state for an event like this, and Lafayette’s location at the intersection of I-10 and I-49 is accessible for schools and fans across Louisiana.
“They have the opportunity to make the most money in Lafayette just because of the ability to sell more tickets. And I think that’s been proven for the event that we’ve been able to host. So I think it will be a win-win, as they say: not only for our community, but for LHSAA,” Berthelot explained.
The CAJUNDOME is, of course, home to UL-Lafayette men’s and women’s basketball and has undergone significant renovation in recent years. Berthelot says bringing the championships to the city could not have happened without the support of the university.
“It’s going to be a great thing for our university as well; not only having these student athletes in town experiencing our city, our food, our music, our culture, but right there on the campus of university, and hopefully will be a great recruiting tool,” Berthelot noted.
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