Cheer, hoops, and spreadsheets
Baton Rouge could get a multi-purpose sports building to draw regional tournaments
At least two local firms are quietly exploring whether Baton Rouge can support a large indoor sports complex aimed at pulling in tournaments and tourism dollars, Visit Baton Rouge President and CEO Jill Kidder tells RedEye.
Why it matters: Sports are practically a civic religion in Baton Rouge. What the parish lacks is the kind of modern indoor venue that can attract the volleyball, basketball, pickleball and cheer tournaments now sending parents, players and credit-card swipes to competing cities.
What she’s saying: The firms looking at a local sports build are doing the math. “They are quietly trying to determine what the investment can be and if they can afford to do it,” Kidder said.
“We are doing our job, looking at the tourism assets we already have and what else we need here.”
The details: Visit Baton Rouge released a 2023 study showing demand for a 100,000-square-foot multipurpose indoor sports facility. Kidder wants to update the study to reflect the market's shift and the new competitors that have entered the field. But she says the basic case has not changed: Baton Rouge has the demand.
By the numbers:
- Between 2020 and 2024, Baton Rouge hosted more than 180 sporting events, attracting 107,700 attendees.
- Youth tournaments in 2024 alone were projected to generate $37 million in indirect economic impact.
- Nationally, the youth sports tourism industry is expected to hit $77.6 billion by 2026 and support more than 700,000 U.S. jobs, according to Sports Facilities Companies.
The local proof: Baton Rouge already knows sports draw crowds.
• Elite, a private training facility on Burbank Drive that partnered with Ochsner, found demand strong and is thriving.
• The Baton Rouge Soccer Club is among the largest in the Southeast, and its Burbank complex already hosts regional tournaments and generates millions in visitor spending.
The competition: Baton Rouge is hardly first to this idea.
- The Hoover Met Complex in Alabama contributed $68 million to its local economy in 2021. Publix Sports Park in Florida generated $23 million in 2019. West Monroe has a 100,000+ relatively new event venue.
- Those places are not magical. They just built the kind of facilities youth sports now demands, and families followed with folding chairs, unwieldy umbrellas and hotel bookings.
Yes, but: The case is not just about visitors.
A facility like this would also give local teams more space to practice and compete when tournaments are not in town, a real need in a parish where demand for indoor court space often outruns supply, especially as hotter summers drive people indoors.
Worth noting: St. George officials are exploring multiple multi-sport complex deals, including one in partnership with BREC.
The bottom line: Baton Rouge already has the athletes, the families and much of the tourism infrastructure. What it does not yet have is the building that turns all of that into a bigger, steadier stream of visitors and spending.