SMG firm out at Lamar-Dixon

• By DAVID J. MITCHELL
• Advocate River parishes bureau
• Published: Oct 31, 2009 - Page: 2B

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GONZALES — Ascension Parish government is taking over management of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center on Sunday, one day after SMG’s contract to manage the facility expires, officials said Friday.

The parish’s decision to allow the contract to end today comes two months after the parish bought the equestrian and events center and its 247 acres on La. 30 for $7.5 million through state and federal grants.

Chief Administrative Officer Cedric Grant said Friday that parish government is taking on many of the center’s events staff but is starting a search for a new general manager.

In the interim, Grant’s executive assistant, Carla Bourgeois, will act as general manager. Former general manager Eddie Crawford, who works for SMG, is out.

SMG has had a month-to-month contract with Ascension since July 1 when a three-year contract expired, Bill Curl, SMG spokesman, said.

“We had great relationship with the people involved with Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. We’re proud of the job that was accomplished, and we feel we have a facility on track,” he said.

SMG, based in West Conshohocken, Pa., manages civic centers and stadiums nationally, including the Baton Rouge River Center and the Louisiana Superdome.

Under SMG, the center’s revenue rose while its losses declined, falling from $939,227 in 2006 to $677,918 in 2008, audits show. The parish covered the losses.

The management shift further places the center’s future firmly in the hands of parish leaders while they try to increase event bookings and other revenue-generating activities and stay out of parish coffers.

Grant said the parish plans to run the center’s finances like a government enterprise fund where revenue supports operations.

He said the plan is to change the event mix to boost revenue and sign more long-term event agreements. He added that the SMG contract was too expensive.

In 2008, SMG earned about $92,800 in fees, according to the annual audit, part of nearly $2.2 million in expenses in that year.

But the contract also had an incentive that could have kicked in as much as another $100,000 if the center’s finances had improved.