NEW ORLEANS (WTXL) — The city of New Orleans is no stranger to big events. From Super Bowls, to national title games, to Mardi Gras, New Orleans is well versed in doing large scale events. Sunday night's Florida State-LSU game in the Caesar's Superdome? No exception. It's a game that has this city excited, as it's still on the rebound from a tough couple of years.
"The city is just anxious to welcome the Florida State fans as well as the LSU fans here," said Mark Romig, who works with with New Orleans and Company, which is the business bureau for the city's tourism industry.
A city that's booming, and busy. New Orleans is set to host Sunday's game along with the Southern Decadence Festival this weekend, a weekend the city's business bureau expects to have an economic impact of several hundred million dollars.
"We're trying to get our jobs back into play," Romig said.
New Orleans, like so many cities across the country, has struggled to get back on their feet since COVID. This weekend is a big step towards doing that.
"We're just not quite there yet where we were in 2019, but slowly but surely with events like this game, and the festivals that are in town, we'll get there," said Romig. "It's taking some time, but this weekend is so important to us."
An important step they're making in front of a lot of eyes.
"I think the key here is the national broadcast. People will have their eyes on New Orleans. They'll see a city that's working, and a city that's full of excitement," Romig said.
Excitement that for one team, will be a little bit bigger than the other, but when the clock hits zero, the city hopes you remember it has so much more to offer.
"We just hope that people come in, play safe, enjoy each other's company and watch a game that I think will go down in the history books as one of the great classics."
Sunday night's game kicks at 7:30/ET.
