In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Baton Rouge River Center has had to postpone several big-name events.
The River Center is being used as a Red Cross Shelter for victims of the hurricane, and because of this, multiple events have been postponed.
The events include Rickey Smiley, scheduled for Sept. 16, the WWE Raw Live event, scheduled for Sept. 25 and 3 Doors Down scheduled for Sept. 29.
According to the River Center Web site, Rickey Smiley will now perform Dec. 16.
The 311 Concert, scheduled for last night, has also been postponed.
Alan Freeman, the General Manager of the River Center, said even though the show has been postponed, they do plan on re-scheduling.
Freeman said it is tough to say at this point when the show will take place, as they are unsure of when the refugees will be moved out. He said the word should come next week from a combination of Red Cross, police and military personnel.
Freeman said the tentative time frame they were given was 60 days.
Barry Leff, with Beaver Productions who is producing the 311 show, said they have no plans to cancel the show, as ticket sales were — and are — doing very well.
“People love them in Baton Rouge,” Leff said. “We’ll definitely be coming back.”
Freeman also said in addition to concerts, the River Center was supposed to host LSU Booster Club lunches, and with the first home game cancelled, there was no lunch.
In fact, he said it is unlikely the River Center will host any lunches at all.
Also, the Associated Grocers’ Trade Show was cancelled.
“We were going to make money from the Booster Club [event], no doubt about it,” Freeman said. “Whether or not we’re going to lose money in the long run, I can’t say. We’re trying to focus on the situation at hand right now.”
The River Center Web site instructs all ticketholders of postponed events to hold onto their tickets. For updates on events, visit www.brrivercenter.com.
Contact Zachary Broussard at [email protected]