Louisiana adds more public money to host rodeos, college sports events

Louisiana lawmakers increased the amount of public money the state will spend on college sports championships, rodeos and other entertainment events in this fiscal year to at least $12.1 million in direct support. State budget documents show spending was previously set at $10.4 million  

The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget voted this month to spend an additional $2 million on the Hondo Rodeo Fest in New Orleans next year. It also approved $500,000 for the Southern College Athletic Conference men’s and women’s basketball championships, which Shreveport will host from 2027-29. Centenary College in Shreveport is the only Louisiana member of the NCAA Division III conference with schools in Texas, Arkansas and Colorado. 

The annual state budget approved in June already included $400,000 for the Independence Bowl, a postseason college football game held in Shreveport every year. The legislature also allocated $700,000 for golf course upgrades linked to a LIV Golf event in New Orleans that was called off in April. 

When the budget passed in June, lawmakers also provided $8.5 million total for four other events: the 2028 College Football Playoff National Championship game in New Orleans; the Defenders of Liberty Air Show in Bossier; the Southwest District Livestock Show and Rodeo in Lake Charles; and Tales of the Cocktail, a beverage conference and festival in New Orleans. Budget documents don’t reveal how the money will be divided among the four events.

A few of these events received public financing last year as well. 

LIV Golf was allocated $7 million in 2025, including $2 million for improvements to the Bayou Oaks at City Park golf course where the tournament was supposed to take place. The tour still owes the state $1.2 million of the $5 million “hosting fee” it was supposed to return when it cancelled the June event. 

The Hondo Rodeo, which came to New Orleans for the first time in April, also received $2 million, and the Barksdale air show received $500,000 last year. 

More events could receive funding in the coming months. Gov. Jeff Landry and legislators moved $25 million from a state savings account into the state’s Major Events Incentive Fund in June. State officials have said the money helps Louisiana attract and keep events that bring tourists to the state. 

The Landry administration and lawmakers had considered giving $2 million to No Problem Raceway in Assumption Parish for a National Hot Rod Association event for example. But it pulled back on those plans after the ownership of the raceway changed, state Sen. Ed Price, D-Gonzales, said at a budget meeting this month.

The Essence Festival of Culture, held over July 4th weekend in New Orleans, has traditionally received state major events funding, including $1.2 million in 2025. It wasn’t given an allocation in the current budget, and its future in the city is also uncertain, according to The Times-Picayune.