Erin Costa / CC
NFL owners approve New Orleans’s revised plan to host the 2024 Super Bowl in 2025 now. A new collective bargaining agreement signed in March extends the regular NFL season by one week to 17 games, beginning 2021. The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation CEO Jay Cicero says that extra week clashes with Carnival Season in 2024.
“What is does for us is it pushes it, our Super Bowl date in 2024, to the second weekend of Mardi Gras,” says Cicero.
Cicero says he’s thankful the NFL agreed to the contingency plan and is allowing New Orleans to host the 2025 Super Bowl instead. Cicero says the availability of hotels to host simultaneous events would be practically impossible and other factors.
“You would have a strain on the police department and security, available facilities to host special events. Traffic would be unbelievable for Super Bowl and a Mardi Gras,” says Cicero.
While Cicero says the City of New Orleans loves a Super Bowl and a good party, combining the two events is just not feasible.
“That also gives us a year more to plan, and a year more fundraise. You know given the times we are in now with COVID and everything else, it’s ok with us if we go to 2025,” says Cicero.
Fat Tuesday in 2024 is February 13th and in 2025 the date is March 4th.
Reported by Brooke Thorington
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