PepperPlex moves aided by $20,000 Tiger jolt

Laser-leveled soccer fields and a footprint for new batting cages are already in the works at the PepperPlex thanks to a $20,000 donation from the brand that created Tony the Tiger.

The complex was chosen as one of five sports facilities in the country to receive the upgrade money as part of the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes Program and Super 1 Foods.

“This is amazing,” said Iberia Parish Councilman Troy Comeaux, who has been instrumental in getting the project started. “Where much is given, much is to be expected. We want to give back. It’s a pride and joy to see 1,000 kids playing soccer on Saturday mornings and baseball teams playing every evening.”

Comeaux heads up the Iberia Sports Complex Commission, which got the ball rolling on the project about six years ago. The PepperPlex opened in the fall of 2007 and is near the end of Phase II of construction.

Faron Thibodeaux, Super 1 Foods store director in New Iberia, said the company was looking for spots that needed money the most.

“I knew the extent of this project and how far they’ve come,” Thibodeaux said. “It was from the ground up.”

Tractors tilled ground behind a crowd of local officials and businessmen Thursday morning as the check was handed over, a symbol of the work that has begun because of the hefty donation, Thibodeaux said.

The money will help develop about nine acres out of the 62 the park started with.

The new fields will allow for more games to be played at the facility and also provide a larger practice area, Comeaux said.

The work is set for completion in coming weeks, weather permitting.

“This donation tells the community that the PepperPlex is important and that private business is a big part of it,” said Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Fran Thibodeaux. “It’s a good example of a private-public partnership. The facility brings in the tournaments, which brings in the people — and that’s what we want.”

Coincidentally, Iberia Soccer Association and Evangeline Little League volunteers had applied for the Kellogg’s program online, Comeaux said, without knowing Thibodeaux already “had the ball rolling.”

“We can’t get around the fact that Troy has been the driving force behind the project,” said Iberia Soccer Association President Dave Cavalier. “He has the determination to see things through. It’s remarkable the countless hours he’s spent. Troy is the PepperPlex.”