New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick announced on Thursday that security for the Sugar Bowl will be increased to Super Bowl levels in the wake of a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street. The Sugar Bowl, featuring the Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame, was postponed to 4 p.m. ET on Thursday evening after originally being scheduled for Wednesday night.
Kirkpatrick appeared on NBC’s “Today” show and revealed that hundreds of officers and staff will be lining the streets, including Bourbon Street, which will be heavily secured. “We are staffing up at the same level if not more so than we were prepared for Super Bowl,” she said.
The Super Bowl is set to take place in February at the Caesars Superdome, the same venue where the Sugar Bowl will be held. The Superdome was also the host site for the Super Bowl following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley emphasized that public safety is paramount, while Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry reassured fans that the city is safer than it was the day before. “I tell you one thing: Your governor’s going to be there,” Landry said. “That is proof, believe you me, that that facility and this city is safer today than it was yesterday.”