For a slideshow of photographs from the sneak peek of “Walking with Dinosaurs,” click here.Though they’ve been extinct for 200 million years, dinosaurs were back Tuesday at the Baton Rouge River Center.The capital city was selected as one of many North American cities to host “Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular,” a theatrical production based on the BBC television series. Representatives from the production visited the River Center to introduce the show and offer Baton Rouge a sneak peak.The event included remarks from East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden; Paul Arrigo, President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Matthew Rimmer, performance coordinator.”We’re the capital city — we deserve something like this,” Arrigo said. “Let’s get some dinosaurs in here, and let’s get some business for this city.”In addition to the talks, audience members were visited by a baby T-Rex, a miniature version of the dinosaur robots used in the production, and saw a behind-the-scenes, sneak-peek video of the show.”We’ve never played in Louisiana,” Rimmer said. “The show is great for family entertainment, and Louisiana seems to be a good market for this show.”Rimmer said “Walking with Dinosaurs” has been touring North America since July 2007 and is booked through the end of 2010.”People are amazed at how realistic the dinosaurs look,” he said. “The reaction is always a sense of pure awe.”The production uses 17 remote-controlled dinosaurs — representing 10 different species — that range anywhere from 10- to 36-feet tall and weigh as much as 1.6 tons. The dinosaurs took six years and $20 million to create.”Baton Rouge has seen a lot of revitalization downtown and is riding the crest for a destination city,” Holden said.Arrigo said Baton Rouge is gaining recognition as a place for holding important events.”Baton Rouge is moving into a good position economically and showing that it’s raising its standards of living,” he said.The show will run Oct. 2-4 and will offer six performances. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 24 at 10 a.m.—-Contact Steven Powell at [email protected]