Jesuit High School Stadium Branding Makeover

Introduction

For years, Jesuit High School’s football, soccer, and baseball programs relied on municipal facilities for practices and competition. When the New Orleans school secured land for a dedicated multisport complex, it gained the opportunity to create a true home for Blue Jays athletics.

John Ryan Stadium delivered the modern field, spectator amenities, and operational flexibility the school needed. To ensure the facility also reflected Jesuit High School’s identity, the athletic department partnered with BIGSIGNS to enhance the stadium with custom BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps, BrandPad™ Outfield Pads, and coordinated athletic banners.

The finished branding added the visual impact that transformed a first-class sports complex into an unmistakable home for the Blue Jays.

The Challenge

Jesuit High School had a successful athletic tradition but lacked a dedicated complex that its teams could call their own.

Football, soccer, and baseball programs previously practiced at a municipal park. Although those facilities provided functional space, they did not offer the permanence, identity, or sense of ownership that comes from having a school-branded athletic venue.

When the school acquired land near campus in 2012, it began developing John Ryan Stadium as a shared home for several programs. The multisport facility needed to support an unusual combination of football, soccer, and baseball while providing a professional environment for athletes, coaches, spectators, and community events.

The stadium itself included artificial turf, enclosed batting cages, seating for more than 600 fans, a digital scoreboard, and a 2,800-square-foot pavilion. Those investments created a strong foundation, but the school also wanted the venue to feel distinctly connected to Jesuit High School.

Without coordinated custom graphics, major surfaces around the complex could appear plain or utilitarian. Exposed padding, bleacher areas, mesh, vinyl, and other facility elements served practical purposes but did not fully communicate Blue Jays pride.

The opportunity was to complement the newly constructed complex with athletic branding that would improve its appearance, energize student-athletes, and make every visit feel like a Jesuit High School experience.

The BIGSIGNS Solution

Jesuit High School worked with BIGSIGNS when John Ryan Stadium opened to add custom graphics throughout the athletic environment.

BIGSIGNS collaborated with Athletic Director David Moreau to understand the school’s visual goals and identify facility surfaces that could become high-impact branding opportunities. The graphics incorporated school identity elements, including the Jesuit High School logo and silhouettes of athletic competitors.

Rather than changing the structure or function of the stadium, BIGSIGNS enhanced the completed facility through professionally designed sports graphics.

Custom BrandPad™ Outfield Pads helped turn necessary protective padding into a coordinated branding feature. Instead of presenting athletes and spectators with plain wall padding, the branded pads added color, school identity, and visual continuity around the competition area.

BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps provided another prominent location for Blue Jays branding. The wraps helped improve the appearance of spectator areas while extending the school’s visual identity across the stadium.

BIGSIGNS also created banners for John Ryan Stadium and the Roussel Building, another Jesuit High School athletic facility. These coordinated graphics helped connect multiple venues and reinforce a more consistent athletic brand.

Moreau described the branding as the finishing element that completed the facility’s presentation.

“The graphics add to the looks of the building, and this was really the cherry on top of the sundae.”

The project demonstrated how custom athletic graphics can elevate a newly constructed venue without suggesting that the graphics provider designed or built the facility itself. Jesuit High School developed John Ryan Stadium, while BIGSIGNS helped give the complex its distinctive Blue Jays identity.

Products Used

The Jesuit High School stadium branding project included:

  • BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps

  • BrandPad™ Outfield Pads

BIGSIGNS also created custom athletic banners for John Ryan Stadium and the Roussel Building.

Project Highlights

  • Multisport high school athletic complex

  • Football, soccer, and baseball programs

  • BrandPad™ Outfield Pads with custom school graphics

  • BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps

  • Coordinated athletic banners

  • School logos and athlete silhouettes

  • Branding at John Ryan Stadium

  • Additional banners at the Roussel Building

  • Improved visual identity for athletes and spectators

  • Graphics integrated into a newly constructed facility

The Results

The branding enhancements helped John Ryan Stadium feel like a true home for Jesuit High School athletics.

Custom graphics added personality to practical facility surfaces and reinforced the Blue Jays identity throughout the venue. Protective wall padding became a branding opportunity. Bleacher areas gained a more finished appearance. Banners extended school pride across athletic spaces.

Moreau explained that the graphics created a clear improvement over leaving functional materials undecorated.

“It improves the look versus going in and just looking at a locker room or seeing mesh and vinyl covering.”

The result was a more cohesive facility experience for athletes, coaches, fans, and visitors. The stadium already offered high-quality athletic amenities, but the BIGSIGNS graphics helped visually connect those features to the school’s tradition and culture.

The complex also provided important operational benefits for Jesuit High School’s programs. Football gained a dedicated practice location, while soccer and baseball could use the same carefully planned facility. During the first year the soccer team practiced at John Ryan Stadium, the program won a state title.

The new stadium became a source of pride throughout the school community. Even after spending significant time at the facility, Moreau continued to appreciate the impact of the completed complex.

“I’m there maybe five times a week, and every time I’m excited about walking into that stadium.”

The graphics contributed to that experience by helping the facility look complete, intentional, and unmistakably connected to Jesuit High School.

Lessons Learned

Treat Branding as Part of the Facility Plan

Athletic branding is most effective when it is considered alongside the broader facility design.

Bleacher wraps, outfield pads, banners, wall graphics, and other visual elements should complement the venue rather than appear as unrelated additions. Planning branding locations early can help create stronger visual consistency.

Design for Every Sport Using the Facility

John Ryan Stadium needed to accommodate football, soccer, and baseball. Each sport had different operational requirements, making collaboration and careful planning essential.

Athletic directors developing multisport venues should evaluate how branded elements will look and function during every activity. Graphics should strengthen the overall facility identity without interfering with field use, visibility, or spectator experience.

Turn Functional Surfaces Into Branding Opportunities

Protective padding, bleacher faces, walls, fences, and other necessary facility elements can also communicate school identity.

BrandPad™ Outfield Pads allowed Jesuit High School to combine protection and visual impact. BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps similarly transformed spectator infrastructure into a prominent branding feature.

Visit Comparable Facilities

Jesuit High School representatives toured other high school and college facilities before finalizing plans for John Ryan Stadium.

Seeing how other organizations manage multisport fields, spectator areas, graphics, equipment, and operations can help project teams identify useful ideas and avoid costly oversights.

Involve Multiple Stakeholders

The stadium required input from several departments because it served multiple programs and school-related events.

Bringing athletic staff, facility managers, coaches, administrators, and vendors into the planning process can help ensure that the final environment meets practical needs while supporting the organization’s branding goals.

Use Vendors as Planning Resources

Moreau emphasized the importance of relying on experienced vendors for guidance.

A facility-branding partner should do more than produce graphics. The right partner can help identify high-impact locations, coordinate designs, recommend suitable solutions, and ensure the final products support the customer’s goals.

Move Carefully and Make Long-Term Decisions

Major facility projects involve decisions that organizations will live with for years.

Moreau advised athletic directors to slow the process down, visit multiple venues, and speak with people who understand stadium management. The same principle applies to athletic graphics: thoughtful planning generally produces a more cohesive and valuable result than selecting branding elements individually.

Why BrandPad™ Outfield Pads?

Outfield and wall padding serves an important protective purpose, but it also occupies some of the most visible space in an athletic facility.

BrandPad™ Outfield Pads allow schools and sports organizations to transform that necessary padding into a coordinated part of the venue’s visual identity. Custom graphics can feature team colors, school logos, athletic imagery, sponsor recognition, or other approved messaging.

For multisport complexes and baseball facilities, branded wall pads can help:

  • Create a more professional competition environment

  • Reinforce school and team identity

  • Improve the appearance of protective surfaces

  • Coordinate graphics across the facility

  • Create visibility for logos and athletic imagery

  • Strengthen the experience for athletes and fans

  • Complement bleacher wraps, banners, and signage

  • Add long-term branding value to the venue

At John Ryan Stadium, the custom padding helped give the newly built complex the visual character needed to feel complete.

Why BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps?

Bleachers are essential to the spectator experience, but their large surfaces can make an athletic venue feel unfinished when they are left unbranded.

BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps help schools turn those visible areas into powerful displays of school pride. Custom graphics can improve the overall presentation of spectator spaces while creating a stronger connection between the venue and the team that calls it home.

Bleacher wraps are especially valuable for schools seeking to create a memorable first impression without making structural changes to the seating area. They can coordinate with field padding, banners, fence graphics, and other athletic signage to create a complete stadium branding system.

Why BIGSIGNS?

BIGSIGNS helps schools, universities, parks departments, and sports organizations enhance athletic environments through custom facility graphics.

The BIGSIGNS approach combines award-winning design, custom manufacturing, premium materials, nationwide experience, and collaborative project support. Every solution is developed around the customer’s facility, branding standards, audience, and long-term goals.

From bleacher wraps and outfield pads to banners, locker room graphics, windscreens, wall graphics, and stadium signage, BIGSIGNS can help organizations build a coordinated identity across one venue or an entire athletic campus.

For Jesuit High School, the graphics provided the finishing visual elements that helped transform John Ryan Stadium from a new sports complex into a proud home for Blue Jays athletics.

Ready to Transform Your Facility?

A successful athletic venue should do more than support competition. It should communicate who you are from the moment athletes, fans, and visitors arrive.

Whether you are branding a new stadium, updating an existing complex, improving protective padding, enhancing bleachers, or creating a consistent identity across multiple facilities, BIGSIGNS can help bring your vision to life.

Request a FREE Mock-Up today and discover how custom stadium graphics can strengthen school pride, improve the fan experience, and turn functional facility surfaces into powerful branding opportunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can BIGSIGNS add graphics to a newly constructed stadium?

Yes. BIGSIGNS can enhance completed athletic facilities with custom bleacher wraps, protective padding graphics, banners, windscreens, wall graphics, and other branding solutions. BIGSIGNS provides the graphics and branding elements rather than constructing the stadium itself.

Can BrandPad™ Outfield Pads feature school logos?

Yes. BrandPad™ Outfield Pads can be customized with approved school colors, logos, athletic imagery, and other branding elements.

Can bleacher wraps coordinate with outfield padding?

Yes. Coordinating BleacherSkin™ Bleacher Wraps with BrandPad™ Outfield Pads and other signage helps create a consistent visual identity throughout the facility.

Can one branding plan support multiple sports?

Yes. BIGSIGNS can develop a coordinated facility branding strategy for multisport venues while considering the needs, sightlines, and uses of each athletic program.

What other products can support stadium branding?

Athletic windscreens, banners, fence graphics, scoreboard graphics, wall graphics, field signage, and sponsor displays can complement bleacher wraps and branded protective padding.