Currently road shows and traveling productions can be attended at Brookshire’s Grocery Arena, Municipal Auditorium, The Strand, Hirsch Coliseum, and Riverview Theatre. Large scale events are often scheduled for the Shreveport Convention Center. These facilities are publicly owned.
Added to these venues are the casinos which all have facilities that host events. There are also privately owned event centers like the Capri Theatre, the Shreveport Little Theatre, Marjorie Lyons Playhouse, and others available for events.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson will now get state money to construct a 30 thousand square foot dome in downtown Shreveport which will be a multi-use event center.
He previously hosted at his temporary dome expensive ticket parties featuring imported dancing girls wearing only G-strings and pasties and open smoking of marijuana. Who knows, these X-rated adult parties may be on his schedule regularly at the Dome. The agreement for state money does NOT preclude such events.
One can only wonder what other events will be held at the G-Dome.
Certainly, the novelty of the Dome and aggressive pricing can result in the pirating of events from the existing facilities identified above. In such instances, a partially state funded privately owned facility will be competing with city owned facilities. That would result in a net zero gain for Shreveport and Bossier and result in state dollars competing with city dollars in facilities owned by the City of Shreveport and Bossier City.
No doubt 50 Cent is planning on bringing new events to this Dome like entertainers, Victoria Secret fashion shows, animated kids shows etc. These would provide more entertainment options for this area and maybe a 100-mile radius.
But then the question becomes one of economics—how many events can the market support? Just because the Dome will have Jackson’s name does not ensure ticket purchasing visitors.
Jacksons’ vision is to create an entertainment mecca that will draw tons of people to Shreveport on an annual basis spending big bucks along with the creation of hundreds of jobs for people in the film/tv industry. Realization of that dream will be a great thing for the local economy and one can only hope that the publicly owned facilities will not take an economic hit and/or a substantial decline in the quality of their bookings.
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.