Coming off a blockbuster 2024, Bossier’s own Brookshire Grocery Arena will spend 2025 by celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The Brookshire Grocery Arena has led Bossier’s entertainment scene since it opened in fall 2000. The 270,000-square-foot facility features 14,000 seats, 16 luxury suites, a club area with two full-service bars, two food court areas, an exterior deck, a glass concourse overlooking the Red River, and state-of-the-art media.

The year-long celebration will highlight the arena’s history from its groundbreaking in 1999 and opening show with REO Speedwagon and Styx up to their current slate featuring comedian Jeff Dunham and country artist Parker McCollum.

“This arena put our city and region on the forefront of entertainment with 25 years of success,” said Tyler Slanovec, general manager of Brookshire Grocery Arena.

Slanovec is leading the arena’s team with more than 10 years in the business across multiple cities. Working in several venues and markets similar to Bossier City, he is happy to be in his current role.

“This is a great venue. For a city the size of Bossier City to have an arena that seats 14,000 is an enormous asset,” said Slanovec. “That’s also a huge selling point because you can get major city capacity in a much more affordable location.”

His arrival coincided with 2024 being a record-breaking year for the arena. Slanovec said they are finalizing their numbers but are expecting to close with their highest revenue total ever.

He credits that success to the number of events, a variety of concerts on offer, and a diverse audience that was ready to experience live events again.

“For example, we hosted Trans-Siberian Orchestra again for the first time in 12 years and that attendance was more than double their last time here,” Slanovec pointed out. 

“We hosted Creed, our first rock show since the COVID-19 pandemic, and set a post pandemic attendance with 12,000 people. Cody Johnson, a major country artist, was playing close to his home state of Texas and Jelly Roll had his first large-scale arena tour, those were big wins.”

He said those events put the arena on the map by showing its capability to host more than country concerts. The Brookshire Grocery Arena’s adaptability helps them host everything from a monster truck rally to a comedy show to a basketball game.

“It’s a challenge to work out those logistics, but it’s a great problem to have,” Slanovec said. “In October, we had a comedy show on Friday night and then Jelly Roll on Sunday. That’s the nature of our business — we take our shows as they become available on our calendar and while we would love to have a full week to get ready, sometimes you have long nights to make it work.”

But preparing for events isn’t always resetting the arena, it also comes in the form of making lasting improvements to the building. The arena had some cosmetic updates to its dressing rooms and hospitality spaces, added Wi-Fi to its suites, and added a new concessions area with more local options, craft beers, and healthier food choices.

The arena has also started to offer entertainment experiences for guests upon their arrival to the venue with their plaza featuring DJs, early merch sales, food, and drinks several hours before an event’s start time.

“We’re always looking into diverse options besides what your traditional fare is at an arena,” said Slanovec. “From the time our guests arrive, we want an experience that lets them come early, beat the traffic, and have a good time while getting ready for their event.”

He told residents to stay tuned as his team has plans in store for continuing their success and celebrating their historic milestone, saying, “We have a lot of irons in the fire, we have a lot of plans. We’re working on big things for this fall.”