For the better part of the last six decades, Johnny Bright Playground on Cleary Avenue was the site of neighborhood jungle gyms and youth baseball games, with longtime volunteer coaches, like “Crawfish King” Al Scramuzza, guiding legions of kids in recreation sports leagues.
But in recent years, fewer kids have been coming out for baseball and other sports. Tennis has grown in popularity. And across Jefferson Parish, leaders have tried to find new ways to get the most of the park system. Now, after years of planning, a new vision for Johnny Bright is taking shape.
The Jefferson Parish Council on Wednesday approved a letter of intent between the parish and Split Sets Foundation, a local nonprofit formed in 2024, to build and operate a “premier tennis and multi-sport performance facility” at the playground.
The Johnny Bright Playground stands on Cleary Avenue in Metairie, La., Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
The letter, which is non-binding, says Split Sets would build a professional-grade tennis facility with 30 courts and have the right to operate it for the next 25 years. The playground’s gymnasium and two existing tennis courts would remain, according to a recreation department official, but the playing fields and structures on most of the rest of the 10-acres would be demolished or repurposed.
Tennis courts and amenities like walking paths, gardens and shelters would be accessible to the public.
The proposal appears to expand on recommendations made two years ago as part of Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng’s “Recreation Reimagined” initiative, which called for adding nine tennis courts and expanding off-street parking.
And it comes as Lee Sheng and other parish officials have argued that the recreation department needs to adapt to the ways that residents use playgrounds today.
Still, the vote on Wednesday received over 100 emails in opposition, following sharp criticism from the Johnny Bright Booster Club. Caroline Laurent Huber, president of the booster club, said the new plan undermined recent efforts to improve playground participation through community events. She added that many families who use the park don’t have the money or time to travel to playgrounds elsewhere.
“It’s a complete blindside,” she said.
During the meeting, Council Member Hans Liljeberg, who authored the resolution approving the letter, stressed that the agreement was non-binding and intended “basically to see if Split Sets can raise the money” needed to fund the tennis center.
Split Sets would need to secure a funding commitment of $16 million in the next six months to move forward.
Liljeberg also said he intends to hold public meetings in the future to gather public input on the proposed facility in response to Wednesday’s criticisms.
“It’s nothing we can’t walk back,” Liljeberg said. “I’m happy to admit if I’m wrong with moving forward with this, then we won’t. … It’s really just kind of floating the bubble out there to see what happens.”
The intent letter states that the project will be financed through a combination of private and public dollars, with a detailed funding plan to be developed over the next six months.
The baseball field is empty at Johnny Bright Playground on Cleary Avenue in Metairie, La., Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
The letter also states that the project is in the schematic design phase after already completing a feasibility study and preliminary cost estimates for design and construction.
If approved, Split Sets would enter into a 25-year lease agreement with the parish through METRY, a public benefit corporation created by the Parish Council earlier this year.
Mario Bazile, a parish chief administrative assistant who oversees recreation, said youth sports that can no longer be housed at Bright Playground would be played at Cleary Playground about 2 miles south, as their sports teams were already combined last fall.
According to state business filings, Split Sets is a limited liability corporation established in 2023, while its nonprofit foundation was created in 2024 by Paul and Gwen Loria, a contractor and architectural designer based in New Orleans, and former Saints tight end Josh Hill.
Figuring out a plan
The parish has spent years trying to figure out the best use for six underutilized playgrounds, including Bright, as participation waned due to aging demographics across the parish.
Lee Sheng in 2022 announced a recreation initiative to convert those playgrounds into hubs for specific sports, but backlash from the community led her to pause those changes.
A new plan drafted with local steering committees was released in 2024. It called for a 11-court tennis hub at Bright at a cost of $2.7 million, as well as a basketball institute.
On Wednesday, Lee Sheng said she believed the opposition expressed by residents was a holdover from the anxieties they felt from “Recreation Reimagined” four years ago, but that she supported the new facility as a means of supporting youth tennis and bringing sports tourism to the east bank.
Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng speaks during a press conference announcing the Gayle and Tom Benson Disaster Relief Fund at the Greater New Orleans Foundation in New Orleans Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Staff photo by Matthew Perschall)
“I get everybody’s emotions,” Lee Sheng said. “It’s kind of ironic, because they have these strong emotions, and they don’t want change, but they’re ok with driving by Bright and it being a completely vacant field. And that’s not ok.”
At-Large Council Member Scott Walker agreed, saying that Bright’s youth sports leagues are unsustainable and that residents’ outcry in 2022 did not lead to an increase in their participation rates.
The only council member who did not vote in favor of the proposal was At-Large Parish Council Member Jennifer Van Vrancken, who abstained because of professional ties between Split Sets and her husband, real estate attorney Stephen Dwyer.
But Van Vrancken complained that no public meetings were held to explain the plan to residents.
“I think some conversation ahead of this item would have been very helpful, and probably would have allayed people’s fears,” Van Vrancken said after the meeting. “Had we had a meeting first, and let them understand what we were exploring, I think people would have had good information and maybe not had to express concern.”
Despite Van Vrancken’s office receiving 101 emails in opposition and one in favor, no one from the public spoke on the resolution during Wednesday’s meeting.
The Johnny Bright Booster Club posted on Facebook five hours before the meeting, saying the proposed changes would privatize their playground, eliminate their youth sports leagues and reverse course on the recommendations set forth by the community steering committee.
“That was the agreement our community accepted in good faith,” read many of the emails sent to the council. “What (was on the) agenda is a complete reversal of that — slipped onto the council agenda with no public notice, no community input, and no warning. It is a profound disservice to every resident who participated in that process.”
Boosters also disagree that participation numbers are unsustainable, pointing to individual programs with high rates like track and field.
Also wary of the facility was Jefferson Parish Inspector General Kim Chatelain, who requested a deferral on the item over concerns that the project did not undergo a public bid process and therefore lacked fairness or transparency.
Liljeberg declined to defer the item because of its non-binding nature, and said he’s been in consultation with the parish attorney to ensure the process is conducted legally.
Parish attorney Toni Hurley said many of the documents Chatelain had requested were not yet available, and that she would share those documents with Chatelain once they were available.
