What do you see as Baton Rouge’s greatest assets – biggest differentiators – in attracting investment and talent?
“No downtown area in America is better situated than Baton Rouge for growth. We have so many available assets, but we need to do more with them. Between Plan Baton Rouge III, the New River Center, LSU Arena and Memorial Park, we’re in a spectacular place project-wise. The LSU brand is also an incredible, but sometimes overlooked, asset that’s just as important to our state as Tabasco or crawfish. And then there’s water. What’s the one thing we have way too much of that becomes a problem every four or five years? Water. Water is going to put us on the map in the next 20 to 25 years. We’re going to be in a position to use existing pipelines to move water from where we have too much of it to places where they need it. Water rights can become a real initiative if we seize the opportunity.”
Are there assets the Capital Region needs to leverage more effectively?
“We need to capture New Orleans as part of Baton Rouge, not the reverse. You’ve got two professional teams, some of the finest dining in the world, and it’s a 45-minute drive from our city. The same applies to Lafayette. You’ve got the history and culture of Acadiana, fishing, hunting. We need to talk about all the amenities within an hour of Baton Rouge so we don’t have a fractured view of the region. Other than snow skiing, you can do about anything you want to do here, if we just think of Baton Rouge as something bigger.”
What challenges must the Capital Region overcome to meet the workforce needs of the future economy?
“I believe Baton Rouge has one of the best trained, hardest working workforces in the country. However, we don’t have a deep enough bench. We need to retain our existing skilled workforce and recruit new people to our community. That is why all of these quality of life projects are so critical to the success of Baton Rouge.”
Baton Rouge residents are notoriously self-critical about their own city. Why is that, and how do we fix it?
“What we need in Baton Rouge is exclaimers, not complainers. We have got to let go of our inferiority complex and build some pride. Our community needs a brand. It needs to be true. And we need to be everywhere with it. The River Center redevelopment, the LSU Arena, Memorial Park, Plan Baton Rouge III—these projects will help us achieve that. But getting there isn’t a singular journey; we must do it together.”
Get out your crystal balls. What is your five-year outlook for your organization and the Capital Region?
“Five years from now, we’ll have a robust, leadership-centric community effort focused on creating momentum. We’ll have a new arena and a River Center that puts about 30% more heads in beds. We’ll have a downtown convention center, a headquarters hotel, and a completely transformed Memorial Park. We’ll have two professional sports teams and a far more vibrant downtown, with the right balance between restaurants, services, and entertainment. We need a walkable downtown after 9:30 that is safe, active, and intentional. This isn’t hard to do. We just have to plan to do it.”
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