Downtown building to undergo multi-million-dollar renovation

Something old is in the process of becoming something new.

Exposition (Expo) Hall, primarily vacant since last used as a movie soundstage several years ago, will soon be renovated into a multi-sports venue.

The downtown Shreveport building, which opened in 1978 and has been home to everything from concerts, to boxing events, to card shows, is about to undergo a $4.5 million renovation. When work – expected to take 12 to 18 months – is complete, the facility can host large, amateur sporting events.

"It will house six basketball courts," said Shelly Ragle, director of Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation. "We can do 10 volleyball courts. We can do 15 pickleball stations if you want to do a pickleball tournament, which is one of the fastest-growing sports right now. Of the basketball courts, four will be NCAA size, and two will be middle school courts. It will have a center court, so you could do a tournament, then have one big, final game in the center."

Games mean competitors – and competitors have family and friends who travel to watch. And that can mean a sizeable economic impact for Shreveport- Bossier.

"Based on 16 (projected) events, the direct economic impact would be right at $3.9 million," said Stacy Brown, president of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. "That's direct – not with any multipliers. As we know, money turns over in the community."

Brown said the push for a multisports facility began in early 2000 when a company was hired to look at the feasibility of an indoor sports facility and where it should be located.

"What it really boiled down to was that the old Expo Hall was really the best location for a number of reasons. One, it's taking a building that has been out of to existing venues. service for a while and bringing new life "I think it makes us really competitive to it. It's a key location downtown. Driving more people to that downtown area is going to help raise all of those businesses."

While out-of-towners will be key to the venue's success, locals will also be able to take advantage of what it offers.

"We'll set it up where you can have birthday parties," Ragle said. "The guys that might normally jog on the riverfront, they can rent a basketball court for the lunch hour. There are all kinds of things you can do."

"Because we have the opportunity to bring in these larger groups, we can have weekday availability for, as an example, volleyball to grow because there are available courts," Brown said. "Now, sometimes (teams are) practicing at 10 o'clock at night because that's when the courts are available."

Ragle and others looked at several venues to get ideas on what should go into Shreveport's multi-sports facility.

"There will be areas on each side where you can sit and watch basketball," Ragle said. "We're doing a glass front, so when you're out in the lobby, you can see into the basketball area. Upstairs, there will be an observation deck. In one of the facilities we went to, they had an adult area up top. Mom or Dad can go up there and have a beer and still overlook the kids playing."

Shreveport has long prided itself on hosting successful amateur events. But other cities want in on the action and have built new facilities or made improvements for these type events that go to other communities," Ragle said. "Ruston just recently opened a sports complex. They spent, I think, $30 million – something crazy – on it. This gives us an opportunity to be competitive. Shreveport is a great location. This will just give us another opportunity in that amateur sports market to bring in more events, which means more money for our city."

Brown said the economic impact from a 2019 volleyball tournament at the Shreveport Convention Center was $546,015.

"That's money spent on lodging, transportation, food and beverage, and their retail shopping while they are here. Their recreation. Space rental for the facility and other business services they use while in the community."

Of that $546,015, Brown said $177,453 was spent on food and beverage. Retail shopping accounted for $108,977.

"Retail really benefits when we bring in those outside vendors," Brown said. "Personally, a lot of times, I don't have time to go shopping while I'm home. When I get out and go out of town, that's when I go shopping."

Brown said the hope is that Shreveport will continue to be a favorite destination for amateur athletes.

"We would love for them to see us as a sports capital, where they come and have a great time, encounter wonderful, friendly people, and come back again and again."