Shreveport’s Downtown Development Authority Awarded $250,000 Grant

Shreveport's Downtown Development Authority has received a quarter-million dollar grant from what might seem like an unlikely source. The money comes from the Deepwater Horizon Claims Administrator and the Gulf Tourism Promotional Fund. DDA Director Liz Swaine says people outside of Louisiana tend to believe that every part of the state are equally impacted by natural or man-made disasters.  But that's just not the case here.  She says Shreveport lost business and tourism after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and after the BP spill, even though this area wasn't directly impacted by any of those coastal events.  She says the grant will allow the DDA to market downtown Shreveport to a wide audience outside the state.