2013 AdvoCare V100 Bowl: 17 Facts About Shreveport, Louisiana
By Joe Micik
There are only seventeen days left until the Boston College Eagles meet the Arizona Wildcats in the 2013 AdvoCare V100 Bowl. Since we’ve already unwrapped facts about the two teams and the bowl game itself, there’s just one thing left to do: find out all about this city in which Eagle alumni will be spending New Year’s Eve.
17 Facts About Shreveport, Louisiana
1.) Shreveport is the third-largest city in the State of Louisiana, with an estimated population (as of last year) at 201,867. For purposes of comparison, that’s slightly less than one-third the population of Boston.
2.) The city is named after Henry Miller Shreve, an inventor who, amongst other things, fine tuned the steamboat and was the first to navigate one up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
3.) The population of the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area is 447,193, 112th-largest in the United States.
4.) Based on the above, this is the second-smallest metro area out of all 35 bowls to be played. The only one smaller is the Mobile, Alabama MSA (GoDaddy Bowl).
5.) Shreveport is the seat of Caddo Parish, with “parish” of course being a derivative of the French term for “county.”
6.) In case anyone was wondering, the nearest major city to Shreveport is Dallas, Texas, which is 188 miles by car. New Orleans is a 327-mile drive.
7.) Shreveport is in the Central Time Zone, so if you go to the game, don’t forget to adjust your watches accordingly.
8.) The climate of the city is considered “humid subtropical,” but don’t count on it on December 31. Shreveport’s average high temperature for New Year’s Eve is 57 degrees, still a fair bit better than Boston.
9.) Snow is a rarity in Shreveport, though not completely unheard of. On average, there is one snowy day a year in the city with an average annual snowfall of about an inch and a half.
10.) For reasons that seem obvious, Shreveport’s common nickname is the “Port City.” It lies on the Red River and yes, it is a port city.
11.) One of Shreveport’s main industries is gambling, which has helped boost the local economy. There are several casinos in the Shreveport-Bossier City MSA, with Caesar’s employing the most people.
12.) This city is also known for its military population, thanks to the presence of Barksdale Air Force Base nearby.
13.) Some famous sports figures from Shreveport include Terry Bradshaw, Todd Walker, and Tommy Maddox, perhaps more memorable for his XFL stint than anything else.
14.) Other celebrities from this area include OJ’s late attorney, Johnnie Cochran, actress Valerie Bertinelli, and singer Jared Leto.
15.) During the latter half of the Civil War, Shreveport served as Louisiana’s capital and was one of the Confederacy’s key cities west of the Mississippi River.
16.) There are no Division I colleges in Shreveport itself; Grambling State University (Grambling) and Northwestern State University (Natchitoches) are some of the closest.
17.) Independence Stadium, the venue for the AdvoCare V100 Bowl (located on the fairgrounds for the State Fair of Louisiana), is located several miles from downtown Shreveport, visible from I-20 and accessed by US Routes 79/80.