BATON ROUGE — A new hotel opened along Howell Boulevard in Baton Rouge Wednesday morning.

Councilman Anthony Kenney Junior joined Athena Hospitality Group to cut the ribbon for the new WoodSpring Suites hotel. Kenney said the hotel adds lodging for tourists, sports teams and business travelers.

He also said it is a sign of growing investment in the area.

"It's showing the momentum, a progress of economic development as we expand new businesses coming to the area," Kenney said. "But most importantly, right? You know, this sits right down the street from the airport, one of our main economic drivers. And so, having tourism come to the city, two amazing football coaches, right? You got Marshall Faulk, you got Lane Kiffin, so you have a lot of people driving into Baton Rouge, flying into Baton Rouge."

Kenney hopes the new hotel will also attract more tourists.