NEW ORLEANS — The College Football Playoff quarterfinal on the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame has been postponed after a truck plowed right into a New Year’s crowd a few mile away early Wednesday, killing at the least 10 folks.
The sport, initially scheduled for Wednesday night time on the 70,000-seat Superdome, has been pushed again 24 hours to Thursday night time.
“For now, that is the plan,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley stated.
The Superdome was on lockdown for safety sweeps on Wednesday morning, when folks with workplaces within the Superdome — together with officers with the Sugar Bowl and Sun Belt Conference — have been advised to not come into work till additional discover.
Some credentialed Superdome workers have been permitted into workplaces by Wednesday afternoon.
The casualties occurred when a driver rammed a pickup truck right into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day. The driver was killed in a firefight with police following the assault at about 3:15 a.m. alongside Bourbon Street close to Canal Street, the FBI stated.
The Georgia and Notre Dame soccer groups arrived in New Orleans on Sunday and have been staying at downtown accommodations simply blocks away from the place the violence occurred.
An announcement from the University of Georgia Athletic Association stated that “all crew personnel and members of the official crew journey get together have been accounted for.”
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno advised WDSU-TV: “What you’ll see right now for the Sugar Bowl, which is able to go on, is that the perimeter for safety across the Superdome has been prolonged to be a bigger zone.”
“So anticipate clearly additional safety. There are extra cops who’re coming in.”
The Superdome, which is about 20 blocks away, is also scheduled to host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
The first Super Bowl after the terrorist assaults of Sept. 11, 2001, additionally was held in New Orleans, and there was an enormous safety perimeter for that sport together with road closures surrounding the Superdome and officers — together with snipers — on the tops of surrounding high-rise buildings, in addition to on the roof of the dome itself.
“We are deeply saddened by the information of the devastating incident in New Orleans,” the NFL stated in a press release. “The NFL and the native host committee have been working collaboratively with native, state and federal companies the previous two years and have developed complete safety plans.
“These planning classes will proceed as they do with all main NFL occasions,” the assertion continued. “We are assured attendees may have a protected and satisfying Super Bowl expertise.”
Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Clearwater, Florida, and Sports Writer Paul Newberry in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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