City-parish, SMG and Raising Cane’s officials lauded today a $3.87 million deal that brands the city-parish’s downtown entertainment venue as the Raising Cane’s River Center for the next 10 years.
Mayor Kip Holden announced the details of the Raising Cane’s deal during a press conference held at the River Center this morning. In an interview after the scheduled event, Holden said the money the city-parish gets from the deal, around $370,000 per year, will be spent on revitalizing the River Center and making it appealing to big-name performers.
“(Sponsorship deals) happen all over the country,” Holden said. “We didn’t want to be the last ones out of the gate.”
The Metro Council authorized Holden’s administration late Wednesday to move forward with the Raising Cane’s agreement. When Daily Report originally broke news of the deal last week, the price of the deal was reportedly $3 million.
However, city-parish and representatives of SMG—the company contracted to manage the venue—revealed to the council that Raising Cane’s will actually pay about $1 million more for the sponsorship.
River Center General Manager Michael Day said the money will supplement some of the ongoing and planned projects like the implementation of new digital signs throughout the complex and renovations to the ballroom and arena enhancements. The center’s new website, raisingcanesrivercenter.com, also rolled out today.
The city-parish had been in talks with several potential partners over the last year, Holden said. Todd Graves, the Raising Cane’s founder and CEO, was the only bidder willing to pay to sponsor the venue. Graves has already partnered with the city in sponsoring a dog park and a “Lemonade Day.”
Speakers at today’s press conference all praised Cane’s, a “home-grown” company, for being the city-parish’s partner. “One Love,” said Metro Councilwoman Tara Wicker. “How fitting the theme of Cane’s is. …This is what the city needs today.”
Paul Arrigo, Visit Baton Rouge president and CEO, even poked fun at New Orleans, which awarded the Superdome’s naming rights to Mercedes-Benz.
“We won!” Arrigo said.
Robert Munson, a sports and business strategist, said in an interview that Baton Rouge doesn’t have money to “throw around” and needed to find a way to compete with other cities. The terms of the deal seems to be beneficial to both Cane’s and the city-parish, he added.
“With the new Courtyard Marriott, I believe downtown will hit the 1,000-hotel room threshold,” Munson said. “With that will come opportunities for bigger events, but the River Center has to keep up.”
After the 10-year contract expires in 2026, Cane’s will have the first right of refusal to renew the sponsorship deal. Day said companies generally don’t seek out sponsorship deals because the value is obscure, but once they sign on, the renewal rate is high.
Day also said he will announce in the coming weeks a big-name country star coming to the newly rebranded center. He hopes to offer Cane’s chicken fingers as a concession option, but is not sure if they will be sold at all the concession stands or at a specific Cane’s location in the complex.
—Sam Karlin
