New contract keeps Bayou Classic in New Orleans
ELENA BERGERON
BCSP Contributing Writer
According to Southern
Vice President and Bayou Classic Coordinator Ralph Slaughter, the
new contract with the Louisiana Superdome Commission reduces the lease
rate for the event to $100,000 plus security, parking and other associated
costs, down from the $350,000 to $400,000 the two schools spent on renting
the stadium under the old ten-year agreement.
Another key in the negotiations was the exorbitant pricing of hotel rooms during the event, an alumni concern Slaughter said could not go ignored.
"We found that hotel rates were a big factor in alumni deciding whether they could attend the Classic," Slaughter said. "We were able to get rates similar to the Essence [Festival] rates."
As the result of alumni associations work with the Greater New Orleans Hotel-Motel Association, many rooms will be capped at around $100 per night as opposed to the $150 to $300 room rates usually imposed during the Classic. The city's contract with the schools expired last November after the Classic's 27th game held in New Orleans, but state legislation that doles out state money for local sporting events, and competing offers to move the game, forced questions as to whether the game would remain on the bayou.
With unsolicited bids from Atlanta, Houston and Tampa that offered capped room rates and lower lease rates for newer facilities, Slaughter said the city recognized the importance of getting a deal done.
"You always have more leverage if you have competitive packages," Slaughter said.
The Classic, which brings an estimated $52 million worth of additional revenue into the city, was one of a number of sporting events addressed by state legislation over the spring. Bill 106, an act passed in April 2002, was amended on the State Senate's floor to put the Bayou Classic on par with other major events the Superdome hosts such as the NCAA Final Four and Super Bowl that receive state funding. Sen. Cleo Fields (D-Baton Rouge) acknowledged offers from other cities and proposed the amendment, which hands out surpluses of the state's four-percent hotel tax to the Superdome Commission.
"These schools are spending like $400,000 to lease this facility and the impact on the state is over $50 million," Fields said.
While there aren't likely to be any surpluses from the tax within the next five years because of the state's commitments to the NBA's Hornets and the Saints, the state gives the Bayou Classic a $100,000 appropriation, compared to the $1 million it spends on keeping the Sugar Bowl, and gives the schools a credit based on attendance.
Slaughter said the deal had been in the works since mid-May with both sides realizing the importance of hammering out a deal.
"We didn't rule out the other offers," Slaughter said. "But this is where we want to be."
© 2002 Azeez Communications, Inc.