A view of closed off Bourbon St. on New Year’s Day.
The Caesars Superdome was placed on lockdown on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the wake of a suspected terrorist attack in downtown New Orleans early Wednesday morning
A view of closed off Bourbon St. on New Year’s Day.
With just over a month before the Super Bowl is scheduled to be held at the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9, New Orleans tourism officials and others planning for the huge sporting event said they will be reviewing security arrangements in the wake of the deadly Bourbon Street attack on New Year’s Day.
The suspect drove a truck into revelers on Bourbon Street in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing 10 and injuring dozens of others. Initial investigations suggested it was a planned attack by a man affiliated with the ISIS terrorist group, according to law enforcement officials.
Tourism officials and business leaders said the initial concern was for the victims of the attack and the investigation by federal and local law enforcement. An assessment of the longer-term implications for events and security arrangements will follow.
“The focus right now is on the investigation response, the care of victims and assessing what we need to do in the immediate wake of this horrific event,” said Walt Leger III, head of New Orleans & Company, the city’s official tourism marketing organization.
There are already plans for “enhanced activities” around the Superdome for the Allstate Sugar Bowl, he said. The game between Georgia and Notre Dame was scheduled to kick off on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. CT as part of the College Football Playoffs, but was postponed until the same time on Thursday.
“There will be more deep conversations in the coming days and weeks to discuss possible enhancements for the Super Bowl,” Leger added. “We already had a great plan in place and certainly when there is an event like this it makes you look and see what further enhancements might be made.”
Michael Hecht, the CEO of GNO Inc., the regional economic development agency and chair of the Super Bowl’s infrastructure committee, said Wednesday that he was cutting short a trip abroad and heading back to New Orleans early for meetings to review plans for the February event.
The Super Bowl is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. The NFL finale typically boosts a host city’s economy by up to $500 million as hotels and restaurants are booked solid for at least the game weekend. They are also seen as a huge opportunity to promote a city and region as an expected 6,000 members of the world’s media attend and thousands of corporate events are held around the event.
The Caesars Superdome was placed on lockdown on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in the wake of a suspected terrorist attack in downtown New Orleans early Wednesday morning
Gov. Jeff Landry has said the state will play a major role in Super Bowl preparations, including security, promising that “New Orleans will be one of the safest cities in the country” by game day. He said at a joint press conference with Mayor LaToya Cantrell in June that the event would be an unprecedented occasion to promote New Orleans and the state as a great place to visit and do business.
Businessman Shane Guidry, Landry’s close confidant who advises the administration on public safety in New Orleans, said Wednesday that the attack calls for a reevaluation of Super Bowl security plans.
“Obviously, if this is tied to a larger terrorist plot, we need to rethink security measures for Super Bowl,” he said. “But I think we can do it safely, with local, state and federal law enforcement working together.”
The French Quarter Management District is among dozens of local organizations coordinating with the city and Super Bowl organizers over enhancements ahead of the event. FQMD chair Jane Cooper said their members, which includes many local business owners, have been pushing for years for Bourbon Street and other areas of the French Quarter to be pedestrianized for safety and other reasons.
“We’ve all been aware of the fact that a vehicle can cause a great deal of damage to great many people,” Cooper said. “I would expect that there’ll be serious discussion about vehicles in a French Quarter, particularly on Bourbon Street.”
The Super Bowl’s organizers have been making security and other arrangements for several years in preparation for New Orleans to host its record-tying 13th Super Bowl. All Super Bowls are designated “Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1” events, which means the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, requires significant federal coordination due to their national and international importance.
DHS, the FBI, local law enforcement and private security teams typically coordinate security measures. Those include advanced screening technologies at event entry points, controlled airspace, counter-terrorism units on standby, crowd control and evacuation measures.
“We have been working collaboratively with our public safety partners and the NFL for more than two years on comprehensive security plans for the 2025 Super Bowl,” Jay Cicero, CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Federation said in an emailed statement. “These discussions and plans will continue in the coming days and weeks ahead.”
Metropolitan Crime Commission Board Chairman Gregory Rusovich said he is confident, with five weeks to go, that the city will be prepared to safely host the Super Bowl. Crime has been declining in New Orleans and other cities after spiking during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t think you can blame New Orleans for a terrorist act. Every city is vulnerable to that threat. That is why Homeland Security and the FBI are leading things,” Rusovich said. “Now, we will double down between local, state and federal law enforcement to protect visitors and locals for Super Bowl.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.
The new year typically always brings two things for sports enthusiasts: Optimism and holiday competition. The start of 2025, however, a soberi…
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