UPDATE posted Tuesday:<\/strong><\/p>\n SHREVEPORT, La. — I<\/span>t\u2019s a go. Shreveport is officially teaming up with rapper Curtis \u201c50 Cent\u201d Jackson to redevelop downtown.<\/p>\n A representative from 50\u2019s executive team told Shreveport’s City Council construction of the new entertainment district downtown is expected to begin as early as the fourth quarter of this year \u2014 or the first quarter of next.<\/span><\/p>\n Part of the new entertainment district includes Millennium Studios, where flooding issues must be addressed. But work is already underway at Shreveport\u2019s Stage Works Studio to start production.<\/span><\/p>\n Before the vote, Shreveport resident Craig Lee urged the city to rebrand the district as the Sam Cooke Cultural Arts District, tying the effort to Shreveport\u2019s cultural legacy.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe name doesn\u2019t say film or entertainment. It doesn\u2019t say anything,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThis project is going to be the largest development in the history of North Central Louisiana spearheaded by an African American. Sam Cooke was inspired here to write ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ \u2014 that\u2019s a branding opportunity the world would recognize.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kenny Gordon of Shreveport echoed the call for a name change and pressed the council to act.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think the name should be changed,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cAnd I think you all should vote on doing the things that need to be done for this project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A local business owner from 1717 Marshall also spoke in support, saying 50 Cent’s project \u00a0would strengthen economic activity downtown.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know that there are great things coming to downtown Shreveport,\u201d the business owner said. \u201cThis will help us do what we need to do downtown, especially in the district where I do a lot of business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ORIGINAL STORY posted Monday:<\/strong><\/p>\n SHREVEPORT, La. — A rap mogul’s bold pitch to the city of Shreveport will either be what city leaders are calling “the biggest fish we’ve ever hooked”… or some fear another catfish.<\/span><\/p>\n “I think we need to note for the record this is one of the largest economic development deals in this city, in this region that we’re having,” said District A Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor at Monday’s administrative session.<\/span><\/p>\n Rapper and entrepreneur Curtis \u201c50 Cent\u201d Jackson is proposing creation of\u00a0<\/span>a new entertainment district in downtown Shreveport. But for it work, it must be co-financed by a dedicated 2% sales tax collected inside the dedicated business zone.<\/span><\/p>\n Council member James Green understands the public’s caution but stress the rewards outweigh the risk. 50 Cent is reportedly investing $50 million of his own money.<\/span><\/p>\n “Eighty percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing,” Green said.<\/span><\/p>\n The proposed Film and Entertainment Gateway Economic Development District would levy a 2% sales tax inside its boundaries, with all revenue flowing into a dedicated trust fund for redevelopment projects. A companion ordinance outlines the creation of the Film and Entertainment Gateway Economic Development District Trust Fund and sets rules for how the money can be spent .<\/span><\/p>\n Mayor Tom Arceneaux said the district is designed to fund public improvements without tapping existing citywide resources. \u201cThe proceeds of that go into a trust fund for the district,\u201d he told council members.<\/span><\/p>\n Bond attorney Michael Busada, who drafted the ordinance, called the model a \u201csuccess-dependent incentive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you do what you say \u2014 spend the $50 million, bring these buildings back to life, create the customers and the foot traffic \u2014 only then will we take the extra money and use it to help mitigate that risk,” Busada said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Busada emphasized that no city cash is fronted: \u201cIf it doesn\u2019t work, the city loses not one red penny.”<\/span><\/p>\n Council members say Jackson\u2019s presence puts Shreveport on the map.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe’re talking about risk failure and fear from what I see there is very little risk for the city from what I see,” added Councilman Grayson Boucher.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m not fearful in doing this because 50 is willing to invest $50 million into Shreveport. We don\u2019t have very many multimillionaires knocking on the door to invest,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n Council members also addressed the need to ensure \u00a0longtime downtown owners aren\u2019t \u201cdisenfranchised.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Boucher admitted better communication is needed. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re talking about the downtown area what we\u2019re looking at is 50 not competing with those existing structures, but to enhance those particular businesses that are here,” added Boucher.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe’ll give the same we’re trying to give 50 cent. I just want local businesses to know that we\u2019re there for them too \u2026 if they want to come knock on the door, we\u2019ll help them any way we can,” Boucher said.<\/span><\/p>\n But skeptics warn Shreveport has been burned before by high-profile projects with a lot of fanfare that never delivered. Anyone remember Elio motors among others?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt this point \u2026 what could it hurt?” asked Councilman Alan Jackson Jr. “But we have to be mindful of past promises that didn\u2019t pan out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The council will hold a public hearing at 3 p.m. Tuesday before voting on whether to adopt the ordinance. If passed, the district will formalize governance through a nonprofit corporation with seven appointed members and begin collecting revenues once businesses start generating sales.<\/span><\/p>\n Busada added,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cMr. Jackson said, \u2018Look, I will invest around $50 million of my own money because I want to recreate the downtown \u2026 I want to bring in more customers so that existing businesses grow exponentially.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n City leaders say the proposal is a rare chance to combine private money with public policy. Whether it brings the promised jobs and a revitalized downtown, they note, depends on if the investment lands like a trophy bass \u2014 or another catfish.<\/span><\/p>\n How the money would work<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n While the tax is paid at the register by customers, the impact also falls on businesses in the zone \u2014 including those tied to Jackson \u2014 which can either absorb the cost or adjust prices to offset it.<\/span><\/p>\n What projects could qualify<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n District projects must either directly support film\/TV services, enhance entertainment and quality-of-life offerings needed to attract industry talent, or create at least 10 full-time jobs or $1 million in new capital investment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Who would run it<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The district\u2019s day-to-day partner \u2014 the Gateway Economic Development Corporation \u2014 is defined as a nonprofit \u201cDistrict Manager\u201d with a seven-member board: nominees from the mayor, subject to council confirmation, including professionals in community development, banking\/finance, film\/TV ownership, marketing and commercial development, plus the Downtown Development Authority president and one member recommended by the North Louisiana Economic Partnership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.ktbs.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UPDATE posted Tuesday: SHREVEPORT, La. — It\u2019s a go. Shreveport is officially teaming up with rapper Curtis \u201c50 Cent\u201d Jackson to redevelop downtown. A representative from 50\u2019s executive team told Shreveport’s City Council construction of the new entertainment district downtown is expected to begin as early as the fourth quarter of this year \u2014 or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2048214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[379948,21739,22634,21738,379949],"class_list":["post-2048213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-incaseyoumissedit","tag-local","tag-louisiana","tag-news","tag-shreveport-bossier"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/50-Cent\u2013backed-downtown-entertainment-district-approved-News.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2048213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2048214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2048213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2048213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2048213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n