We are in the final stretch, folks. Sure, the Super Bowl is over a week away, but in terms of preparations the circus starts Monday.
The road has been rocky, but somehow we’re managing to cross the finish line.
We weathered a terrorist attack that made us rewire the city’s entire security operation. We had a once-in-a-130-year snow storm which set back our construction and beautification efforts.
Through calamity, the troops kept marching. And I must say, the progress I’ve seen has been nothing less than astounding.
As we round the bend, I spoke with Jay Cicero, President/CEO, of Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and member of the New Orleans Super Bowl 2025 Host Committee.
Cicero gave me one last round of updates on what’s happening and let listeners know if the progress we’ve made is enough.
“I’m feeling like we are on fire sometimes, but we are feeling good,” Cicero said. “Everybody is working together… You strive for perfection, and hopefully, we have an excellent outing next week.”
In terms of whether there are any major outstanding projects, Cicero confirmed, “Nothing major, just a lot of little things here and there. We want to make sure everybody comes to opening night at the Superdome on Monday and attends the Super Bowl experience at the convention center Wednesday-Saturday. We’ve been distracted by the terrorist attack on January 1st and then the snowstorm… So we’re a little behind on attendance compared to other cities.”
If you’re interested in attending the festivities you can join the Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday for $20.
“Bring the whole family to the Super Dome Monday night and enjoy seeing Partick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and everybody else on the Chiefs and Eagles up close and personal,” said Cicero. “See them in an environment where they don’t have a helmet on.”
In closing, I asked Jay what he hoped Super Bowl LIX would leave in terms of a lasting legacy.
“You think of all the construction projects, they’ll be here for numerous years after Super Bowl LIX is gone,” says Cicero. “The renovation of the Caesar’s Superdome, a 560 million dollar renovation that Mrs. Benson the State of Louisiana, and LSED took on.
“But there’s also the financial legacy of leaving 3.5 million in the local parish community that we did with Entergy and Impact 59,” he continued. “That was a program where we gave away $3.5 million in funds and grants to over 60 nonprofits in the Greater New Orleans area. It’s the event that keeps on giving. I think the biggest legacy is how we use this event — we being the state and city — to put a spotlight on New Orleans and Louisiana and to put a spotlight on the things that are happening, when so often we spotlight the things that aren’t happening. This is our time to shine.”