Concordia Parish officials traveled to Washington this week to ask their Congressional delegation for help in getting $13.3 million to build a visitors center on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Mayor Hyram Copeland, state Rep. Bryant Hammett, Riverfront Authority Chairman Sidney Murray Jr., and Police Jury President Charlie Blaney went to Washington Wednesday and are set to return home today. Copeland said Friday they met with representatives of U.S. Sens. John Breaux and Mary Landrieu and U.S. Rep. John Cooksey, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies, to brief them on plans for the riverfront and ask for help getting grants.

&uot;They’ll investigate sources of funding … and we’ll call them in a few weeks to see what they’ve found. On this trip, we just told them what our needs are,&uot;&160;Copeland said. He said he feels positive about Vidalia’s chances for getting the funding.

The facility would include an interpretive center on the history of Vidalia and the river; a state welcome center; a Vidalia archives; a community meeting room; a theater; and Vidalia Chamber of Commerce offices. Ashe, Groussard and Weinzettle of Alexandria, La., have drawn up plans for the center.

Natchez already has a center with visitor information, tourism offices, a theater and other amenities. But Walter Tipton, Natchez’s director of tourism management, said Vidalia’s center should only bring more people into the area, not compete with Natchez’s facility. &uot;And these sorts of centers draw people to the whole area more than just one particular venue,&uot;&160;he said. &uot;I think they’ll end up complimenting each other.&uot;

Vidalia’s center would be part of a proposed 58-acre riverfront development that could include stores, restaurants, an amphitheater, condominiums and sports fields and that town officials say will attract tourists and create about 400 jobs.

Additional site work began in December for the $1.66 million first phase of the project. It will include building an elevated riverwalk north of the river bridge, a road to the site and a sewer lift station for the development’s RV park. The second phase includes lighting, landscaping and parking. The visitors center – what architects term a &uot;gateway center&uot; – is the third phase.

Copeland said town officials are talking with developers about bringing amenities like hotels to Vidalia Landing. No deals have been made.

Tipton said such development will only bring more people to the Miss-Lou as a whole. For one thing, construction of a new convention center has just begun in downtown Natchez. &uot;A major concern is that we won’t have enough hotel rooms to accommodate people for the larger convention,&uot;&160;he said. &uot;So having more hotels would actually be a good thing.&uot;