( CNN ) -- New Orleans architect Mark Ripple only plays the occasional game of poker , but he 's willing to put all his chips on the table and risk at least $ 150,000 on somebody else 's dream . That 's the estimated value of in kind contributions that Ripple , his partners and consultants are donating to build what 's been dubbed the 9th Ward Field of Dreams -- a community track and athletic field in part of the city hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina more than four years ago . When it 's all said and done next summer , his firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple will have given an estimated 500 man-hours toward a $ 2-million project that 's become a symbol of community recovery . `` The hurricane was such a transformational experience , '' said Ripple , an architect for 30 years and a lifelong New Orleans resident . When Katrina flooded Ripple 's family home under 8 feet of water , it changed him . When he found himself accepting help from friends who ripped out useless drywall , swept out mud and tossed ruined beds through the windows , it changed him . `` I went through this with my wife and kids in a house that I built and renovated with my own two hands , '' he said . Storm damage forced his firm to take up temporary offices in another city an hour away . `` When that routine is ripped away from you , you get a different appreciation for what it means in your life . You get a better understanding of how important that is to who you are and what you do . You ca n't really appreciate that until it 's been taken from you . '' Like many other residents , the pain gave way to a mission . Brian Bordainick , a 24-year-old athletic director at Carver High School in the 9th Ward , made his pitch to Ripple and his partners : Help build a new stadium for the neighborhood , and make a powerful statement about New Orleans ' ability to overcome Katrina by working together as a community . `` The rebuilding of this broken city is a very emotional thing for me and I 'm very passionate about it , '' said Ripple . `` So it was another way to recover our life and regain what we had prior to the storm . '' The sports facilities at Carver -- once a perennial football powerhouse -- were devastated by Katrina . Like many of the city 's schools , enrollment plummeted after the storm as residents fled and never returned . Students now attend classes in eight portable trailers . The football team practices in an abandoned lot . In late 2008 , Bordainick went to work -- online and in New Orleans executive offices -- rallying support for a new neighborhood track and field facility paid for with thousands of individual and corporate donations of time , services , materials and cash . `` Those of us over 50 often become jaded , '' said Ripple . `` People say you ca n't do this and you ca n't do that -- it 's just so refreshing to have somebody Brian 's age step up and ask the basic question , 'Why the hell not ? ' '' `` It 's really interesting to see why certain people come to the table , '' said Bordainick . `` Mark was one of those guys from the get-go who wanted to help out , and he just happened to be an architect . He was a guy first and foremost who believed what this could do for the city and he was like , 'Oh yeah , and I happen to have an architectural company that we can use to help further this goal . ' '' By the time Ripple -- a former wrestler at Jesuit High School -- heard Bordainick 's pitch , he was committed . Both of Ripple 's older brothers were multisport athletes who played football in high school and college . `` Athletics can teach kids discipline , commitment , perseverance , goal-setting , and give kids a social outlet , a sense of belonging and improved self- esteem , '' Ripple said . A neighborhood sports facility would only do more to foster these values among 9th Ward kids , he said . According to Bordainick , Ripple 's community status brought credibility to the project early on . At the same time , Bordainick said , Ripple has completely given himself over to the cause . `` If you talk to him about the project for 20 or 30 minutes , he 's going to start to cry , '' said Bordainick , who came to New Orleans after Katrina as part of the nonprofit Teach for America program . `` He 's that type of guy . '' Big gamble . But as the clock ticks toward the disaster 's fifth anniversary , it 's apparent Ripple and his partners have invested in a big gamble . Although the school expects to kick off its opening football game at the new field on Katrina 's August anniversary , the project remains about $ 700,000 short of its goal . And Bordainick insists construction will not begin as planned in March until 100 percent of the funds are raised . `` We do n't want the project to stall after we break ground , '' said Bordainick . `` If we stall , we may lose momentum and the project never finishes . '' Under a worst-case scenario , the hundreds of work hours , countless resources and materials donated by Ripple 's firm could yield zero results unless all $ 2 million of the project 's estimated price tag is raised by Valentine 's Day . `` As far as I 'm concerned , to use a poker analogy , we 're all in , '' laughs Ripple . `` Sometimes what it takes is just perseverance and pushing and pushing , even when it gets fatiguing . It 's worth the risk . We 're gon na make it happen . '' Long before the storm , Ripple and his partners had established their firm as a highly respected regional player in architecture and design -- jointly renovating and expanding the New Orleans Museum of Art , the Fair Grounds Race Course and the Aquarium of the Americas . Four years after Katrina , the business of architecture in New Orleans has taken on a different tone , said Ripple . `` Architects can be a catalyst for change in the community and they can make a difference . And I had never thought of architecture in those terms until after the storm . '' In addition to the Field of Dreams , other Eskew+Dumez+Ripple projects are directly connected to erasing the results of Katrina 's wrath . The firm is part of a joint venture to build a new federal Veterans Affairs hospital to replace one severely damaged in the storm . In another high-profile project , partner Allen Eskew plays a key role in the city 's post-Katrina reconstruction planning . The storm has been a boon to the local construction and renovation industry , a sharp contrast to the national construction business as a whole , which has been slowed by economic recession . Ripple 's grateful for the boom -- in part because it helps the firm offset pro-bono work . `` In that regard , the Field of Dreams project has n't hurt us tremendously financially because we do have enough work volume to absorb that cost , '' Ripple said . Green designs . Over the summer , plans for the field have solidified , including design components that are environmentally friendly . If completed , the Field of Dreams would be among the greenest facilities of its kind in the nation , said Bordainick . Special drainage will help protect the area around the stadium from storm water runoff , said Ripple . Katrina illustrated all too well that New Orleans is susceptible to flooding . Actor Brad Pitt 's New Orleans recovery group , Make It Right , has some experience with drainage issues , Ripple said , and Pitt 's organization is consulting on the project with partner Steve Dumez . Stadium plans call for field lights which will be carbon-neutral and operate at half the cost of traditional lights . Outbuildings on the property will have vegetation on the roofs , helping keep the buildings cooler and reducing energy consumption . One especially innovative feature under consideration is a running track surface made from recycled athletic shoes . Nike , which has donated $ 100,000 toward construction of the field , has developed a synthetic material called Nike Grind consisting of ground-up rubber and polyurethane from discarded shoes . `` It 's a very scary time for our project right now , '' said Bordainick . `` We have a lot of money left to raise and our timelines are real . '' Describing the emotional pull that drew Ripple to make such a total commitment to Bordainick 's dream , the architect said , `` There 's a deeper meaning that projects take on when you feel like you 're serving a larger purpose . ''
Architect whose home was flooded by Katrina works pro-bono to build $ 2-million high school stadium . `` There 's a deeper meaning ... when you feel like you 're serving a larger purpose , '' he says . Firm 's $ 150k donation may be fruitless if funds are n't raised in time . `` It 's a very scary time for our project right now , '' says school athletic director .