Shreveport mayor issues statement on Fair Grounds Field litigation. Here's what he said.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux issued a statement Friday regarding an ongoing lawsuit between the city and Friends of Fairgrounds, LLC.
According to a press release from Arceneaux's office, there is a long-standing policy of the City of Shreveport not to comment in the media on ongoing litigation. However, due to certain statements being released Thursday regarding revitalization of the Fair Grounds Field, Arceneaux felt it necessary to respond.
In October 2022, the city issued a halt order for demolition of Fair Grounds Field and subsequently cancelled the $200 million REV Entertainment plan. Friends of Fair Grounds Field, LLC recently filed suit against the city alleging the demolition would risk exposing Shreveport residents to life-threatening microscopic fungus spores left over from bat guano droppings, known as histoplasmosis.
Here's what Friends of Fairgrounds said in their letter to Mayor Arceneaux
Dear Mayor Arceneaux,
Friends of Fair Grounds and Plaintiffs in our lawsuit against the City of Shreveport over the City's plan to demolish Fair Grounds Field have been told you will not meet to discuss revitalization of the stadium unless we drop the lawsuit. In our view, dismissal would give you the green light to fulfill your pledge to bulldoze Fair Grounds Field. The answer is no.
We believe your demand that we abandon the lawsuit demonstrates the City's mismanagement of Fair Grounds Field and shows bad faith.
You cite the lawsuit as your reason for refusing to meet with a citizens’ group pledging to spearhead the stadium’s revival. Using the same excuse, you tell members of the City Council not to meet with us as well. With the City’s doors closed to us, we have written multiple letters describing in detail our plans for the stadium’s revitalization. We have received no responses from the City or its representatives, only your threat to restart demolition.
This inflexibility runs counter to State of Louisiana plans to upgrade Hirsch Coliseum and the City’s own plans – thanks to Shreveport taxpayers approving your April bond issue -- to improve Independence Stadium and the entrance to the Fair Grounds. It does nothing for the Fair Grounds, Queensborough and other surrounding inner-city neighborhoods.
Our most recent letter applauded your decision to cancel the proposed $200-million REV Entertainment plan for a new baseball park at the Fair Grounds. Your rejection of the costly REV proposal raised an obvious question: What to do with Fair Grounds Field?
To justify the City’s antagonism toward Friends, SPAR Director Shelly Ragle falsely blames our group for the failure of the City’s 2022 demolition attempt and your subsequent penalty payment to the contractor (who the City shamelessly tried to burden with liability for the potential airborne spread of disease from bat feces). On the contrary, we believe the City should credit Friends for saving the community from a frightening outbreak of histoplasmosis and the resulting lawsuits against City government.
We drew the City’s attention to the careful analysis of the bat population at Fair Grounds Field by respected national authorities and how to manage the removal of this protected species. Those warnings were ignored, placing the health and safety of thousands of Shreveport residents and visitors at risk. Only an order from the Louisiana Department of Health (attached) stopped the City’s reckless demolition attempt.
This entire misguided mess appears to be driven by embarrassing publicity about the stadium’s run-down appearance, harping by local media, and the resulting pressure on City officials facing re-election to “do something.” Feeling the heat, do City officials rationally engage Friends about our plans? No, you blame us for the mess. Going further, you blamed City Council members for pushing demolition.
Through our attorney, Friends has communicated to the City that a meeting could be held in a manner that protects the City, Friends and the public. Any negotiation would be conducted in an attempt to benefit all parties. In response, we have been told the City will only meet if we drop the suit. The City's position is arbitrary, illogical, and not in the best interest of the public. The 1986 bond issue to build the stadium was approved during the administration of Mayor John Hussey. In a subsequent City bond election in 2019, Mayor Adrian Perkins requested funds to demolish the stadium. Shreveport voters said no.
Virtually everyone Friends has consulted, in both public and private sectors, has said the opportunities for the stadium’s revitalization should be addressed. Many want attention also paid to the Fair Grounds campus and the surrounding inner-city neighborhoods. We previously refuted City assertions that the stadium was structurally unsound, drainage issues were unsolvable, and the facility could not be reused.
As we have said, rebuilding Fair Grounds Field does not just preserve a baseball field. A new Fair Grounds Field would celebrate sports, host outdoor events, support our core neighborhoods and unify our diverse and divided city.
Friends of Fair Grounds Field did not seek conflict with the City, and we do not wish to remain adversaries. We are ready to work with the City, Caddo Parish, the State of Louisiana, the School Board, the State Fair Board and any interested parties – including REV Entertainment – to restore this 38-year-old structure and again make it an asset for our community. When can we meet?
The letter was signed by Bill Robertson with the Friends of Fair Grounds Field.
Here's what Mayor Tom Arceneaux said in his statement
In his statement, Arceneaux disclosed that he had a April 4 meeting with Bill Robertson, to discuss various issues for which Robertson introduced himself as a "lobbyist" for three different organizations. When Robertson brought his request that the City reconsider the planned Fair Grounds Field demolition, Arceneaux said he repeated the position that he's held consistently for nearly two years.
Arceneaux said he told Robertson that his conditions for any project, from any source, to revitalize Fair Grounds were:
The source must deposit cash to be held in escrow for the cost of demolition of the property;
The City's contribution to the restoration of the property is not to exceed the remainder of the funds currently available for the demolition of the property;
All other contribution to the restoration of the property must come from a non-City source; and
Operations at the restored Fair Grounds Field must be self-sustaining − not subsidized by the City in any way.
As far his administration can tell, Arceneaux said in his statement, Friends of Fair Grounds, LLC has made no progress on any of those conditions in the two years since they were first communicated during the 2022 Mayoral campaign through counsel, to one of their representatives.
Arceneaux said his administration is happy to entertain alternative options that meet the conditions outlined above from any source. Unless the City can be assured that these conditions are met, the demolition of Fair Grounds Field will continue as planned with proper safeguards in place.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Mayor Tom Arceneaux issues statement on Fair Grounds Field litigation
