WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Congressman Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., today announced a $3.52 million grant to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to fund engineering, design, and construction for site improvements at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center.

The funds are being made available as part of the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act), which provides funding for Gulf Coast states affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill.

“The Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center is an important part of the tourism industry on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Wicker said. “I am glad these RESTORE Act funds will support much-needed infrastructure improvements to help attract more conventions and events to this Coast landmark.”

“Improvements to the coliseum campus will help stimulate tourism and economic activity on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which has experienced a remarkable comeback after disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the oil spill,” Hyde-Smith said.

“This construction grant will go toward improving the facility that so many of us on the Gulf Coast already utilize. The Coliseum is home to many annual events that draw both locals and out of town guests.  By improving the Coliseum, we are creating more economic opportunities for south Mississippi,” Palazzo said.

Wicker, then-Senator Thad Cochran, and Palazzo sponsored the RESTORE Act, which provided Gulf Coast states—Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Texas—with 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. In addition, the funding supported the creation of a long-term science and fisheries endowment and the creation of Gulf Coast Centers of Excellence.