Shreveport is reducing spending from its Riverfront Development fund as gaming revenues fall short of expectations and city officials take a cautious approach amid uncertainty surrounding the future of Sam’s Town.
The Shreveport City Council approved an amendment Tuesday to the city’s 2026 Riverfront Development Special Revenue Fund budget after officials said revenues and the fund’s available balance are coming in below what the city originally projected.
Shreveport Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark told council members the Riverfront fund is “shrinking,” attributing the decline partly to lower gaming activity and partly to a fund balance that did not reach the level anticipated when the budget was adopted.
“I believe Riverfront’s fund balance was budgeted at one-point-something million and is actually right at one,” Dark said during the Sept. 8 council meeting.
The city is responding by bringing expenditures in line with the lower revenue expectations.
Dark said the primary expenditure reduction is a decrease in the amount transferred from the Riverfront Development fund to the city’s General Fund.
“We’re trying to get the budget a little bit more in line with what we’re expecting to receive this year,” Dark said. “And because the revenue is much less than we expected to receive, we’re also reducing expenditures.”
The discussion then turned to the Shreveport casino market and the ownership change involving Sam’s Town.
Dark said uncertainty surrounding the property, combined with a broader contraction in the local gaming market, contributed to the administration’s conservative approach.
“Given the fact that they’re now running two casinos, it’s a little bit unclear to us whether the Sam’s Town revenue will hold up for the short term,” Dark said.
Council members questioned whether the administration has met with casino leadership to discuss longer-term plans for the Sam’s Town property and its place in Shreveport’s riverfront economy.
One council member described the casino as “one of our largest employers” and argued that understanding the operator’s plans is important not only for gaming revenue but also for tourism and future Riverfront Development funding.
Dark said there have been some discussions surrounding the property, but when pressed on whether the administration had met with company leadership specifically to discuss its future plans for Shreveport, the response was that those discussions had not yet taken place.
The council member argued that such a conversation should be a priority.
“When you talk about tourism and the amount of money that tourism brings into this area, I think that it’s imperative for a discussion to take place about what they look to do on the Riverfront,” the council member said.
City officials also cautioned that any significant changes at the property would take time.
The council ultimately approved the Riverfront Development budget amendment on a 6-0 vote.
The adjustment illustrates how changes in Shreveport’s casino market can extend beyond gaming operations themselves. Riverfront gaming revenues help support city expenditures, including transfers to the General Fund, meaning weaker-than-expected collections can affect funding available elsewhere in the city budget.
The council discussion also leaves a longer-term question unresolved: what plans the casino’s ownership has for Sam’s Town and how those plans could affect employment, tourism and Shreveport’s Riverfront Development revenues in future years.