Victory Track at Joe W. Brown Memorial Park has a brand-new surface after a $500,000 overhaul aimed at fixing years of wear from daily use by student athletes, NORD athletic programs and neighborhood residents. The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission marked the project's completion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the New Orleans East park, closing out work that addressed damage built up over years of heavy training and competition schedules.
The upgrade was made possible by more than $500,000 in state funding secured by Jason Hughes, who now represents District E on the New Orleans City Council but previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives, according to New Orleans CityBusiness. Wikipedia says Hughes represented District 100 in the state legislature from 2020 to 2025, according to Wikipedia, before winning election to his current council seat. Per WWL-TV, Hughes won the November 2025 election for the District E seat, defeating former Councilmember Cyndi Nguyen to represent New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward.
“Young people deserve quality spaces to train, compete, and stay active,” Hughes said, calling the resurfaced track an investment in the health and quality of life of residents across District E and New Orleans, per the same report from CityBusiness.
A Track Built Into a Larger Recreation Hub
Victory Track sits at Joe W. Brown Memorial Park, a 163-acre site in New Orleans East that also includes an 86-acre parcel home to the Louisiana Audubon Nature Center, according to The Cultural Landscape Foundation. The broader park offers athletics, aquatics, fitness activities and youth programming, per the CityBusiness report, and the track itself supports training, competitions and everyday exercise for area residents.
NORD interim CEO Natasha Robinson said maintaining existing recreation facilities matters because community organizations and residents depend on them, noting that Victory Track is used every day by young athletes, school teams and residents, the outlet reported. NORD athletic schedules show the track serves as a key eastern venue for citywide youth sports, hosting programs including NORD's Pee Wee Track and the annual Track Citywide Meet.
City Hall Frames the Upgrade as Part of a Broader Push
Mayor Helena Moreno said the track project is part of the city's broader investment in parks and recreation facilities, calling Joe Brown the cornerstone of the community, the report notes. The resurfacing work addressed damage from years of wear.
NORD's broader citywide maintenance demands underscore how a facility-specific, state-funded project like Victory Track's resurfacing supplements the commission's work.
A Park With Deep Roots in New Orleans East
Joe W. Brown Memorial Park carries a long history in the neighborhood. The land was donated to the city in 1959 by Dorothy Dorsett Brown in memory of her late husband, oil tycoon Joe W. Brown, according to a historical account from WWL-TV.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the site, the park underwent post-Katrina renovations, including a new turf football field that opened in 2012, per the Cultural Landscape Foundation's account. The park remains part of NORD's broader effort to maintain and improve recreation facilities across New Orleans.
