Caddo voters will be asked to approve a $60 million bond issue on November 3 for the proposed $70 million sports complex.
In 2022 Caddo voters approved a $20 million bond issue for the Walter B. Jacobs Nature Center renovation/remodeling. They did have a vote on the $10 million revenue bonds to finance the pickleball complex that only needed Caddo Commission approval.
Many voters want to know more about the pickleball complex construction as they decide whether to approve additional spending of taxpayer dollars on a sports venue owned by the parish.
These questions/concerns include, but are not limited to, the following which are not listed in any order of priority:
1. Are 500 parking lots needed
2. Access through one entrance/exit road adjacent to a railroad track with a crossing guard is extremely limited via Flournoy Lucas, Forbing Road, and Wallace Lake that ties into Flournoy Lucas with a four-way traffic stop
3. To date no management agreement with the Forbing YMCA has been completed, or if so, released to the public. The cost of management will be a major factor in the projections of income/loss for the complex
4. To date, no schedule of hours or hourly fee to play on the courts has been released
5. To date, there has been no announced commitment by the YMCA to build adjacent soccer fields, etc. to the complex that was touted as a plus to the complex
6. Will the demand for local pickleball players be satisfied by other pickleball courts such as those at Earl G. Williams Park in Oil City which are free, many local churches, in North Port Sports Complex, Shreveport public parks, etc.
7. What are the projections for operating losses and for how many years and the source of payment of the losses after the complex opens.
These inquiries have merit when voters are asked to approve the sport complex which will need an additional $10 million for completion from either private dollars and/or parish reserve funds.
