(The Center Square) – Ticket prices for events at Brookshire Grocery Arena are set to increase as the city looks to repair and upgrade the 25-year-old facility.
The Bossier City Council on Tuesday finalized changes to its contract with ASM Global to manage the arena, extending it for five years and raising the fees per ticket from $3 to $5.
City Attorney Charles Jacobs said $1 from each ticket fee will go to ASM Global, while the other $4 will be used by the city for capital maintenance improvements.
ASM Global General Manager Tyler Slanovec told the council at its Nov. 4 meeting that the fee hike will allow the company to keep up with rising costs associated with plumbing, fire safety, communications and aging infrastructure.
“It allows us to stay competitive in the landscape and make sure we can make the improvements necessary to be able to have great events, to be able to get top acts, to be able to have a safe place for people to come, to be able to have restroom facilities and concession facilities,” Slanovec said.
The extra $1 collected by the city will be put into a parking and transportation fund to add infrastructure that allows patrons “a safer way to get in a quicker way to get out at the end of the function,” he said.
“That is our No. 1 complaint that we receive from our guests on our surveys,” he said.
Slanovec said the 14,000-seat arena has welcomed over 7 million guests over the past 25 years to see musical acts including Garth Brooks, The Eagles, Paul McCartney and more. The arena recently announced an April date for country music star Cody Johnson.
The facility also hosts high school graduations and wrestling state championships, the National Black Rodeo finals and the Jehovah’s Witnesses Regional Convention, among other events.
