Louisiana officials preparing for Super Bowl 2025 in New Orleans, plan tourism increase
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) - The Super Bowl is returning to New Orleans for the 11th time next year.
The Big Easy was supposed to host this year's Super Bowl, and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said they swapped places with Las Vegas since the date was so close to Mardi Gras.
"Having Super Bowl and Mardi Gras on the same weekend would be almost impossible to handle," he said.
Nungesser is in Las Vegas with members of the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee, including New Orleans Saints owner Gale Benson. Together, they are showing what southern hospitality in Louisiana looks like.
"We hosted a Louisiana party here and invited the media and a lot of the corporate sponsors that we want to hold their corporate events in New Orleans so we had some Louisiana seafood," he said.
They also had a jazz band play but Nungesser said there is a lot of work to be done to bring the party back to Louisiana.
"Just seeing the show out here in Las Vegas. We were able to tour the stadium, there were several sub-meetings about security, promotions, volunteers and everything from how to get people to and from the stadium," he said.
The good news is that the state has done this before. New Orleans has hosted the Super Bowl 10 times already, seven at the Caesars Superdome and three at the old Tulane Stadium.
"But we've got a lot of work to do. We got to clean up the city. Make sure the pumps are working. All the things to put our best foot forward," he said.
The last time the Super Bowl was in New Orleans was in 2013. It brought in millions in economic benefits. Nungesser said it's not just the game that brings money in.
"It's the thousands of people that are going to travel in and out of New Orleans between now and then. And every time they mentioned the Super Bowl next year in New Orleans, it makes people think about coming there. And then after the Super Bowl, because it is watched all over the world, that will be a boost to our tourism industry for years to come."
And although he didn't see Taylor Swift, he did get to see Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his coach walking in for their press conference to talk about the Super Bowl.
"So that's that's as close as I got," he said.
Super Bowl LIX will be on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025.
"This is a chance to make New Orleans and Louisiana shine. And I know we'll be up to the task," Nungesser said.
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