West Cal Arena & Events Center a boom to Sulphur
By Gena Latrell
glatrell@americanpress.com
What does it take to put a show on?
At the West Cal Arena & Events Center, a lot of preparation, but they’ve got it down to a science.
The West Cal Arena & Events Center, at 401 Arena Road in Sulphur, is one of the area’s prime locations to view the next big sporting event or hold your next business meeting.
“We take all events,” said Adrian Moreno, executive director of the West Cal Arena & Events Center. “We’ll take any group, any walk of life; we have no bias. We do our best to accommodate everyone in both facilities.”
The West Cal Arena & Events Center is composed of two entities: the arena, a more than 135,000-square-foot covered area that seats about 1,800 people, and the events center, an indoor facility with a nearly 15,000-square-foot exhibition hall and meeting rooms.
The arena mostly hosts rodeos, monster truck shows, sporting events, carnivals, festivals, live stock shows and trail rides, among other activities while the events center is mostly for private events, like weddings, business meetings, conferences and the like.
The self-run arena and events center has about 15 full-time employees and 10 to 12 who work part time, and according to Moreno, funding comes from the state, not the public.
“It’s a misconception that people directly pay for the West Cal Arena & Events Center or that the center is a drain on the economy,” said Moreno. “We receive funding from Louisiana’s hotel-motel tax.”
Moreno says his day as executive director begins “bright and early,” with duties that range from meeting and navigating clients’ needs, overseeing setup for an event or balancing the budget.
One of the big events held here is the Cal Cam Fair in October; plans for the West Cal Arena & Events Center include welcoming more event bookings — big and small — and possible expansion to the two facilities.
The public, however, Moreno says, is the most important part of his and the staff’s work. “Without the support of the community, we would not be where we are; without them, and this is for Sulphur and all of Southwestern Louisiana, we would not be as successful as we are,” said Moreno.
“We treat each event the same, no matter if it’s for an audience of half a dozen or hundreds,” said Moreno. “We want to give everyone a first-class, first-rate experience when they visit us.”
To find out about more of the upcoming events at the West Cal Arena & Events Center, visit www.westcaleventcenter.com.
This is the first in a series of stories focusing on the economic impact of event centers in Southwest Louisiana.
‘We’ll take any group, any walk of life; we have no bias. We do our best to accommodate everyone in both facilities.’
Adrian Moreno
Executive director
West-Cal Events Center is located at 401 Arena Road in Sulphur.