Until 2006, Louisiana's third-largest city's main claims to fame were sweet (Southern Maid Donuts) and musical (the Municipal Auditorium's Louisiana Hayride, a national radio program spotlighting, among others, Hank Williams and a young, pompadoured Elvis Presley). But the opening of the Shreveport Convention Center two years ago gave Bossier City residents something new to talk about.
The convention center managed to increase both its bookings and operating loss simultaneously through 2007, but that may be changing due to—of all things—out-of-control oil prices.
"The economy has been really good for the Shreveport area, with a lot of oil and gas companies setting up offices and holding meetings and training sessions," said Deborah Foshee, director of sales and marketing for the Shreveport Convention Center.
Indeed, drilling permits continue to rise in the area, spurred on by shale and cotton valley gas deposits, while Louisiana set a new state record in its 2006-2007 fiscal year for oil and gas royalties ($522.5 million). "In the past six months, we've started to see a lot more [group] business, and we've been getting more creative in our marketing efforts, specifically targeting the [oil] industry," said Foshee.
It hasn't hurt, either, that all those energy-industry attendees need a place to hang their hard hats. "The Hilton Shreveport has been open for a year now, and that's been very beneficial for us," said Foshee, of the 313-room property that adjoins the 350,000-sf center. "We're definitely up in terms of bookings, and 2009 is shaping up to be very positive. In fact, we're having trouble squeezing people in—everybody wants the same [dates]—but we're doing a pretty good job of juggling that."
That said, the bigger challenge, no doubt, remains the balancing act of offering attractive rates while turning a profit—or at least keeping the red ink to a minimum. The latter has proven to be a major sore point over the past year between city officials and SMG, the facility's management company, after the center finished 2007 with a $2.2-million loss—$500,000 worse than expected.
"I think things are going very well," said Foshee, referring to both the center's current rates and the city's bruised feelings. "You can't just build something like in Field of
Dreams and expect that they'll come," she said. "You have to build relationships, and that can take three years or more. We're in our third year, and it's been a pivotal one, and 2009 should be phenomenal."
Originally published Aug. 11, 2008