The Louisiana Public Records Act is designed to allow all citizens to obtain information from public entities, such as the Shreveport Bossier Tourist and Convention Bureau (SBTCB) now known as Visit Shreveport Bossier.
This law is to be broadly interpreted in favor of the person requesting the same. Some public agencies promptly comply with public records requests, and others do not. Some agencies share all the information requested without strict interpretation of the request and others do not--playing hide and seek with public documents.
This writer was informed of a study commissioned by the Shreveport Bossier Sports Commission, which is an arm of the SBTCB. I was advised the study was to evaluate local sports venues.
A public records request was emailed on Nov. 14 , 2024 to Stacy Brown, President of SBTCB, as follows:
"Please send ASAP the study/report rendered to SBTCB on availability of sports venues , etc. in Shreveport Bossier."
Here is Brown's responsive email dated Nov. 15, 2024:
"We have not done a study on availability of sports venues."
I now have a 47 page report dated Oct.25, 2024 provided by Huddle Up Group to the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission entitled "Sports Tourism Strategic Plan and Facility Recommendations."
Paragraph 3 on page 9 of this report is titled 'Facility Availability and Cost." Page 10 recommends "expanding existing facilities or building new ones could alleviate some of the pressure of local demand."
On page 4, the report lists 16 Shreveport and Bossier facilities that are and/or can host sporting events and assigns a Sports Tourist Index score for each.
The report deals in depth with the sports tourism market and how Shreveport Bossier can expand this tourism venue. Obviously the availability of sports venues is key to any effort to attract this market.
Soooo...did Brown accurately respond to my public records request? I will let you be the judge of her response.