Two of three necessary organizations for the Bayou Country Superfest have signed on for the next edition of the event.
 
Both the Mayor’s Office and the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau are on board for the event and have agreed to put up $300,000 each, said Paul Arrigo, president and CEO of BRACVB.
 
The third group, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, is waiting for the next lieutenant governor to be elected before agreeing to sponsor the event, Arrigo said. The lieutenant governor runs the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
 
“We are exactly where we were last year,” Arrigo said. “We are on board, as well as the city.”
 
Arrigo said the venue and talent for last year’s event were selected in October, and organizers hope for the same schedule for this year.
 
“Back in June, LSU, EBR President Kip Holden, hotels and restaurants of the Baton Rouge area met and did a final critique,” Arrigo said.
 
Last year’s event brought more than 87,000 attendees from all over the U.S. Sixty-four percent were Louisiana residents, while the rest came from as far as New England, according to Arrigo.
 
More than 86 percent of attendees said they would not have visited Baton Rouge if it had not been for the concert, but 99 percent of attendees said they intend to return, Arrigo said.
 
Arrigo said he hopes the 2011 festival will be bigger than 2010 and include the same level of top-tier talent.
 
“We put on a signature event that we would be known for,” he said. “This city never had a festival to draw out-of-state visitors.”
 
The festival is a way to make Baton Rouge a better tourist destination, Arrigo said.
 
“A large amount of locals chose to stay, which kept money in Baton Rouge instead of bringing it elsewhere,” Arrigo said. “And most whom attended said that Baton Rouge was more than they expected it to be.”
 
Arrigo and Herb Vincent, associate vice chancellor for University Relations and senior associate athletic director, agreed the festival allowed the University to be showcased as the flagship school of the state.
 
“There are very few places this event could be successful, and I think we made it happen,” Vincent said.
 
The University contributed $50,000 to the 2010 event, Vincent said.
“The University made a net amount of $450,000,” he said. “We received $2 for every ticket sold, which amounted to about $170,000 alongside $250,000 for our share of concessions and $87,000 for parking.”
 
Click here to see a photo slideshow of Bayou Country Superfest 2010.
 
—-
Contact Kayla DuBos at [email protected]