Shreveport council approves Film and Entertainment Gateway economic district amid questions about studio flooding and timeline

The Shreveport City Council voted Sept. 9 to create the Film And Entertainment Gateway Economic Development District, approving Ordinance 97, which authorizes local sales- and use-tax increment financing to support economic development projects within the district.

Council members and members of the public debated the plan's near-term effects on production and downtown development and raised questions about persistent flooding at Millennium Studio that could delay activity. City staff and a project representative said mitigation work is underway and that some productions could start as soon as fourth quarter 2025 or first quarter 2026, but no firm production schedule was guaranteed.

The ordinance, moved by Councilman Jackson and seconded by Councilman Green, passed on a 6-0 vote. The ordinance cites state enabling authority for local economic development districts (part 2 of Chapter 27 of Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended) and defines district boundaries and the mechanism by which certain local and potentially state sales- and use-tax increments will be captured and used to finance development inside…