Bring it on home
A Metro Council agenda space request submitted by Mayor Kip Holden’s office on March 19 asking for funding to be allocated for the Miss USA pageant set off a flurry of speculation among local media outlets that Baton Rouge will once again host the event later this year. However, a spokesman for the mayor says no deal has been finalized to bring the pageant back.
Scott Dyer says that “it is still very much a work in progress.” He adds the agenda space request—which asks the council to appropriate $230,000 for expenses related to the 2015 pageant and give Holden authority to execute any agreements associated with the event—has been submitted “to help bring the pageant to Baton Rouge.”
Dyer says Holden isn’t saying anything further about any possible negotiations. Visit Baton Rouge President and CEO Paul Arrigo also declines to discuss any negotiations, or even confirm they’re taking place.
A New York-based spokesperson for the Miss USA pageant could not provide a comment on when an official announcement on the host city for this year’s event will take place. Dates for this year’s pageant also have yet to be set. —Steve Sanoski
