BATON ROUGE — Two mystery musical performances are set to take over Tiger Stadium next spring, and East Baton Rouge officials are betting big that the shows will bring in massive crowds and millions in revenue.
The Metro Council on Wednesday night approved a plan to return a portion of sales tax revenue from the events back to the acts. The deal, recommended by Visit Baton Rouge, allows for the city-parish’s 2% share of event-related sales tax, estimated at around $1 million total, to be rebated to the artists or their promoters.
“Residents often note that musical acts opt to include New Orleans and Lafayette and just jump over Baton Rouge,” Jill Kidder, President & CEO of Visit Baton Rouge told the council, adding that Baton Rouge ranks 11th lowest in concerts per capita in the U.S. “We are the Capital City. This should not be happening to us.”
The concerts are tentatively set for March 28 and May 23.
While the performers haven’t been announced, city leaders say they’ve been told the shows will feature major headliners capable of filling Tiger Stadium the way Garth Brooks did when he was “Callin’ Baton Rouge” in 2022. That concert sold more than 102,000 tickets, making it the second-largest stadium show in the U.S.
“The 2022 Garth Brooks concert in Tiger Stadium is a prime example of the kind of impact that we want to make with these major musical events,” Kidder said.
Officials believe the economic benefits will far outweigh the cost of the rebate. Kidder added, “Visit Baton Rouge is estimating that each of these two concerts that we’re working on, with numerous partners in the community, would generate more than $30 million of spending in our area.”
The Metro Council has approved similar incentives in the past to help bring large-scale events to Tiger Stadium, including Bayou Country Superfest.
District 4 Councilman Aaron Moak supported the move, saying the city should continue leveraging all of its entertainment venues to attract events of every size.
“I fully support this, but we also need to keep the eye on the prize and try and fill these venues from from the smallest to the largest that we have in Baton Rouge,” Moak said.
Baton Rouge has done better at attracting big acts to the River Center. Country superstar Lainey Wilson performed two sold out shows at the Raising Cane’s River Center in September. And in October, comedian and New York Times bestselling author Leanne Morgan’s popularity had her perform three shows in both the arena and Raising Cane’s River Center Performing Arts Theatre.
Visit Baton Rouge has not announced which musical acts will head to Tiger Stadium in 2026. That announcement is expected in after Thanksgiving.
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