NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Flags were flown at half-staff Thursday in front of the Superdome and at nearby state buildings as fans began arriving one day later than planned to watch the Sugar Bowl, a game that this season is part of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals between Notre Dame and Georgia.
Security measures around the stadium were bolstered a little more than a day after an attack in the nearby French Quarter early Wednesday, when authorities say a pickup truck deliberately plowed into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations, killing 14 people and injuring more than 30.
The attack occurred on Bourbon Street, which runs through the heart of the French Quarter and is famously known for its bars, restaurants, and clubs, near the corner of Canal Street, a main artery of downtown.
The crime scene, which was gradually being cleared to reopen to the public on Thursday afternoon, sits about a mile and a half from the Superdome.
Numerous security personnel surrounded the 70,000-seat stadium, inspecting the area with the help of bomb-sniffing dogs. The dogs patroled the cars entering the Superdome’s garage and sometimes sniffed bags and backpacks.
The game, originally scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Wednesday (01:45 GMT), was delayed until 3:00 p.m. Thursday (21:00 GMT). The winner would advance to the Orange Bowl on January 9 against Penn State, which had secured the Fiesta Bowl victory.
Although many fans who had traveled chose to extend their trips to watch the game, the postponement meant some could not attend because travel plans were too expensive or logistically difficult to rearrange.
Ticket resales online were plentiful, with many listings at $30 or less. Some were even priced at $23.
“ postponing the game was absolutely the right decision,” said Lisa Borrelli, a 34-year-old Philadelphia resident who came to New Orleans with her fiancé, a Notre Dame alumnus from 2011, but who could not stay for the game.
Borrelli noted that she and her partner had paid more than $250 for tickets and were unsure if they would be able to resell, given the low prices.
“Of course we’re disappointed to miss it and to lose so much money on it, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter,” Borrelli said. “We’re fortunate enough to be OK.”
Federal Representative Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, said postponing the game “was not taken lightly.”
“There was only one thing in mind: public safety,” he said.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said he would attend the matchup. “Believe me, this is proof that that venue and this city are safer today than they were yesterday,” he asserted.
Darrell Huckaby, 72, from Athens, Georgia, also chose to head home Thursday rather than stay for the game. He had been staying in a hotel room overlooking the site of the attack.
He recounted that he was asleep when the incident occurred, but upon waking he could see pink blankets covering the dead.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “I think the instinct this morning of most people was to want to be home. No matter how important football is to our culture in Georgia, for a while the game simply didn’t seem to matter.”
Sugar Bowl managing director Jeff Hundley pledged late Wednesday to “create a safe, efficient and entertaining environment” on Thursday, both inside the Superdome and in its surroundings.
Statements from the Georgia Athletic Association and Notre Dame confirmed that both schools had accounted for all team personnel and official travel party members.
The Superdome is also slated to host the Super Bowl on February 9.
