New Orleans showed that it is well on the way to full recovery, successfully hosting the high-profile 57th Annual NBA All Stars in the renovated Super Dome on February 19. However, the All Star Hoops jamboree wasn’t the only major sporting event taking place that week, as four days before the NBA game, the city provided the venue for the Sugar Bowl college football championship game.
These two national events were the first two major sporting events to be staged since Katrina wreaked havoc on the city in August 2005. Both events combined were responsible for attracting nearly 150,000 fans from out of town, providing a much-needed financial injection. for local business.
In fact, the impact on the economy as a result of these two events was estimated at around $400 million, much-needed revenue for the city still struggling to rebuild. Only about 65% of the pre-Katrina population has returned to the city and rebuilding is still going on in areas almost totally destroyed by flooding caused by the levee breach. Events like this not only help the economy, they also help raise the city’s profile and help put it back on the tourist map.
Along with sports fans, an additional 40,000 or so visitors were in New Orleans over the weekend in mid-February, all looking for fun, entertainment and places to explore. On Friday, February 15, Louis Armstrong International Airport processed 19,000 passengers in one day, its busiest day since 2005. Hotel owners in New Orleans estimated they had high occupancies in the nineties, putting a wide smile on Steve’s face. Perry, executive director of the Metropolitan New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Over the weekend, the French Quarter, largely untouched by Katrina, came alive with fans filling the streetcars, restaurants and bars; a reminder of the days before Katrina when Super Bowls and other national sporting events were common. In fact, the city hosted nine Super Bowls between 1970 and 2002 and four men’s basketball Final Fours between 1982 and 2003. It also hosted the women’s Final Four in 2004.
Following the massive rebuilding program, New Orleans has become a brighter, rebuilt modern city with more to offer than it did in pre-Katrina times, while managing to retain the original charm and features of the French Quarter. Sporting facilities have been renovated and updated to put it back on the map, and the success of the two events in mid-February means more national events are likely.
Frequently referred to as ‘America’s Most Unique City’, New Orleans has also successfully hosted the Mardi Gras festivals, albeit on a reduced scale, but now that it has successfully coped with hosting two major national sporting events in a week, he looks set to quickly return to his pre-Katrina state of one of America’s most visited cities.
