Mayor's Corner

Public Presentation of New Downtown Event Center Project

The public is invited to a public presentation of details re: the proposed new downtown event center. The informational session will be held from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm Thursday, March 5, at the Monroe Public Safety Center (1810 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive).

The purpose of the new arena (event center) project is to replace an outdated facility that is more than a half-century old, and to create an economic driver that spurs further development in downtown Monroe. We want to create a downtown entertainment district filled with new stores, restaurants and shops. This would create an estimated 1100 jobs (600 construction and 500 permanent). The new event center would help existing business thrive, attract more tourists, and bring more tax revenue to our city. People always say they want more to do in Monroe. Well, this is the perfect project to add to our local quality of life.

We have met with several groups of local leaders to discuss this project. I have talked about this project with residents and received positive feedback from people living in every district of Monroe. Most people believe we need a new arena. However, some feel that we should simply renovate our existing facility. That is a novel idea, but it simply costs too much to renovate the current arena – just like it was cost prohibitive to renovate our old airport terminal. A lot of people were against us building a new airport. A lot of people were against building Interstate 20. But we could not imagine Monroe without either of the two. If we don’t build a new event center, one of our neighboring cities will. That means even less entertainment in Monroe. We can’t let that happen!

The team of professionals who would be working on the project consists of local and out-of-state companies with experience throughout the state, country, and internationally. This team has worked on determining the final site location, land acquisition costs, seating capacity, overall design, financial strategy, and operational approach needed to support the construction and success of a 21st century arena (event center). M3A Architecture of Jackson, MS is the lead on this project. William McElroy, a Monroe native (and Wossman & Louisiana Tech graduate), is the principal partner and managing member of M3A.

Back in the day, Monroe was one of the major entertainment markets in Louisiana. But now, we have fallen behind major cities like New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Bossier City, and Alexandria – all of whom have more modern facilities. Let us continue our progress and accommodate our growing population and increased tourism from our neighbors in Arkansas, Mississippi, other parts of Louisiana and more. The continued growth of CenturyLink, Chase, IBM, Vantage, Gardner-Denver Thomas, and medium and small businesses are attracting talented individuals and families from across the country and world to Monroe. Our city and parish continue to see the development of new subdivisions, housing complexes, restaurants, the RiverMarket, Art Alley and more. As leaders, we must do our part to be innovative and creative in the development of projects that enhance our local quality of life

Our current arena was not built for the 1960’s. It was built for the future; and, for the past 50+ years it has indeed served its purpose. Now is the time for the current generation of city leaders to build Monroe’s next transformational project. A new arena…one that our constituents, visitors, and generations to come will enjoy and be truly proud of. By working together, we are making a difference. Monroe is one city, with one future!