On Wednesday the developers of the proposed 350-million dollar Camillia Bay Resort released a video of Drew Brees:
“Drew Brees here. I hope everyone is doing great! I would not be who I am today without youth sports. I know how much confidence and self-esteem I gained from my time on the field back in my hometown of Austin, Texas. We want kids across the Northshore to be able to enjoy that same opportunity. That's why I am proud to support this project and look forward to bringing more youth sports opportunities to this new complex in eastern St. Tammany Parish. For this to become a reality, all we need is you! Vote Yes on December 11. Vote Yes and the Northshore Wins! Thanks and Who Dat!”
Brees has taken a hand in getting the Eastern St. Tammany project passed by the voters by endorsing a major component of the project that is overlooked: A 35-million dollar sports complex for the youth of St. Tammany Parish.
In talking with pollster Bernie Pinsonat, he calls the endorsement:
“Drew Brees is important, but it’s still an election where the people are for and against, his endorsement probably will help. The question is: will the people who are impressed that he did it, will they actually go out and vote?”
La Politics Editor and Publisher Jeremy Alford commented:
“It helps to kind of shift the conversation a little bit,” Alford says. “From folks who don’t want to talk about gaming, they most certainly want to talk about children and athletics and those opportunities that can serve the community.”
It’s not known if Brees was compensated for his endorsement or will be taking a part in the development or day-to-day operation of the complex or the casino-resort.
But, Alford says landing Brees is stroke of genius and an almost guarantee of success:
“If you’re from outside of the state and you want to come in here and do business, and you need someone with high name recognition, and high likeability, you can’t go wrong with Drew Brees.”
Casino developer Peninsula Pacific is betting Brees can melt the logjam in the close race and push the referendum over the top with this campaign to appeal to families over tourism at this crucial stage.
“From a public relations perspective, this really kind of puts more of a positive light on this endeavor,” Alford explains. “Any kind of gaming operation is kind of run into some controversy but, you bring in kind of a light, and fluffy personality like Drew Brees, it has the ability to change the tone of things.”
We’ll find out if Brees' endorsement is the key to victory on December 11th.