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SpaceX planning La. spaceport Prospective deal would transform state’s coastal southwest BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL, ALEX LUBBEN and ADAM DAIGLE Staff writers
Louisiana is in the final stages of a deal to bring Elon Musk’s SpaceX to coastal Vermilion Parish, where the aerospace giant is planning to build a new spaceport that will
launch rockets into orbit from an 18-mile stretch of marshland about 45 miles southwest of Lafayette. The prospective deal, which has been rumored for months, would forever transform the remote area by bringing potentially thousands of jobs and a massive influx of aerospace and other commercial
activity to the remote coastal community. The site for the planned facility, known as Pecan Island, is at the center of a complex settlement agreement resolving dozens of coastal lawsuits that blame ExxonMobil for pollution and land loss. According to a source with first-
be announced this month by Gov. Jeff Landry, will be the latest economic development coup for an hand knowledge of the agreement administration that has attracted who was not at liberty to speak deals of unprecedented size and publicly, the settlement will in- scale to the state, including one volve SpaceX receiving control of the world’s largest AI data of the land, some 130,000 acres centers, some of its largest LNG in all, whether through a sale, export terminals and a major new long-term lease or other type of steel mill. arrangement. ä See SPACEPORT, page 6A The deal, which is expected to
LSU racing to raise millions in new sports era
From privatization to private equity deals, options abound
Bridge toll companies faced lawsuits, concerns
‘We’re learning from their mistakes,’ Lake Charles lawmaker says BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN and MEGAN WYATT Staff writers
BY ALYSE PFEIL and JON BLAU Staff writers
LSU will convene its biggest sports donors this week in two closed-door meetings at the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion to discuss “the future of LSU athletics” and propose an “alternative revenue-generating opportunity” that university leaders say could “change the future of college sports in America.” What exactly that means isn’t clear because officials say their plan will be made public after getting feedback from donors. What the meeting portends for LSU and major college athletics, however, is better understood. Division I schools have faced “absolute financial pressure” ever since a recent NCAA legal settlement allowed them to pay upward of $20.5 million to student-athletes each year, said Kathryn Kisska-Schulze, a sports tax scholar and professor of business and law at Clemson University. “Major athletic departments have
become so financially stressed that they are actively searching for revenue models that did not exist in college sports even just a couple of years ago,” she said. A range of solutions is being implemented. The University of Kentucky moved to privatize its athletic department in 2025 to break free of the revenue-generating strictures of public institutions. The University of Utah opted for a private equity deal to inject more cash into its athletic programs. LSU, which is under tremendous financial pressure, is also looking for a fix. It’s rumored that LSU’s 2026 football roster, constructed by first-year coach PROVIDED PHOTO By LSU ATHLETICS Lane Kiffin, costs more than $40 million in combined revenue-sharing and LSU was one of the first schools to third-party deals, including a dozen line up a jersey sponsor, Woodside who are being repped by Nike. Energy. The university did not disclose athletes The university is also on the hook the value of its seven-year patch deal for a pile of payouts dedicated to fired when it was announced in February. coaches, including $54 million due to ex-football coach Brian Kelly. TOP: STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL ä See LSU, page 9A JOHNSON, STAFF ILLUSTRATION
The companies responsible for tolling once construction finishes on the new Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge have been mired in controversy over problems with their tolling infrastructure on another south Louisiana bridge, leading to lawsuits and questions from public officials about the state’s continued partnership with them. Public infrastructure company Plenary and tolling operator Kapsch’s work on the Belle Chasse Bridge in Plaquemines Parish prompted widespread complaints from residents after it opened last year, who said the tolling system frequently malfunctioned and led to locals receiving fee bills as Fourth in an high as $7,000. Under occasional series pressure, state officials about the Lake suspended tolling last Charles I-10 bridge October on the Belle Chasse Bridge while the state and companies faced lawsuits from Plaquemines Parish and a group of residents. In the meantime, Louisiana has moved forward with the same two companies as the lead developer and tolling operator for the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles, which broke ground in April and is expected to finish construction in 2031. The Lake Charles bridge’s toll would be the only required one on I-10 spanning the nation’s east to west coasts. Lake Charles bridge project officials have defended their decision to partner with Plenary Americas and Kapsch for the $2.3 billion project despite the companies’ track record in Belle Chasse. The state finalized its agreement for the companies to operate tolling on the Lake Charles bridge in August 2024, before tolling began on the Belle Chasse project.
A BRIDGE TOO STEEP
ä See CONCERNS, page 8A
WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 71 PAGE 8B
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