By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports
Three years ago, Shreveport was on the verge of losing The Red River Classic — a big volleyball tournament which had been held at the Convention Center several years and had a significant economic impact on Shreveport and Bossier City.
“We did talk about moving the location,” said Andy Reitinger, Executive Director of Summit Volleyball of Carrollton, Texas, which brings the tournament to our area.
Why? Summit wanted to grow the event, which meant more competitors and more matches. But the convention center was not big enough to accommodate that growth. Another facility was needed to complement what the convention center could handle.
Thus, Expo Hall, which had been used as a movie soundstage, became a temporary volleyball arena.
“The space worked okay,” Reitinger said. “The subfloor was a bit of a hazard, and the dark walls were not ideal for lighting at a sporting event.”
However, despite that and other issues, Summit decided to keep the tournament in Shreveport for the foreseeable future. Not because of what Expo Hall is, but what the City promises it will be.
As the Shreveport-Bossier Journal previously reported, Expo Hall will be converted into a multi-sports venue. The $4.5 million project is estimated to take 12-18 months to complete after construction begins soon, city officials said.
“The (Shreveport-Bossier) Sports Commission…is optimistic about having a multi-sports facility available in Shreveport,” Reitinger said.
Likewise, the Commission is optimistic that the renovated facility will not only keep events coming to Shreveport-Bossier, but also will be beneficial in bringing new events.
Events mean tourists. Tourists mean money to the local economy. For example, Brown said the 2019 Red River Classic accounted for 2,000 room nights at 16 hotels — a sizeable increase from 2018. She said the event had an economic impact of $546,015. Included in that number was $177,453 spent on food and beverages, and almost $109,000 spent on retail shopping.
“Based on (a projected) 16 events, the direct economic impact would be right at $3.9 million,” said Stacy Brown, President of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, which oversees the Commission. “That’s direct — not with any multipliers. As we know, money turns over in the community.”
Brown said that number is contingent on those events bringing in a total of more than 2,900 daytime attendees and more than 11,000 overnight attendees.
And Brown emphasized the money those people spend — on food, lodging, and shopping — will help keep taxes lower for those who live in Shreveport-Bossier. For example, she said local taxes on the above numbers are about $250,000.
“That helps offset our costs,” Brown said. “Just because tourism exists and we bring in these events, our local people pay less in taxes. Most of these people are coming in and using very little of the city’s services. But they are spending money in our community, so it provides greater economic impact.”
Brown is hopeful downtown Shreveport, where Expo Hall is located, will be a major beneficiary of the multi-sports facility.
“It’s a key location downtown,” Brown said. “Driving more people to that downtown area is going to help raise all of those businesses. Right next door to Expo Hall is the Red River District, which has struggled. They just haven’t had that walk-thru traffic they’ve really needed to be successful. This will also give that an opportunity to really flourish.”
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com
Photo by LEE HILLER