The Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off in the Sugar Bowl Thursday night as part of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in the wake of the Bourbon Street terrorist attack that left more than a dozen people dead.
Sugar Bowl officials and lawmakers decided to postpone Wednesday's final game of the three-game playoff series until 4 p.m. ET. Both schools reportedly arrived in New Orleans on Sunday, just blocks from the massacre that hit the city.
Fans gathered in the Big Easy scrambled to make final plans as the game was suspended.
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Mounted police officers arrive on Canal Street after a vehicle plows into a crowd in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)
Lisa Borrelli, a 34-year-old Philadelphia resident and graduate of the University of Notre Dame, came to New Orleans with her fiancé to watch the Fighting Irish.
“We cannot arrange new flights,” she told The Associated Press, adding that she understood why officials postponed the match and “it was absolutely the right decision.”
Borrelli said he paid more than $250 per ticket but didn't bother listing it on a third-party site because the price was so low. Early Thursday morning, some sites were selling tickets for as low as $26.
“Obviously it's disappointing to miss it and lose so much money, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter,” Borrelli said. “Luckily, we're okay.”
Darrell Huckabee, a 72-year-old Georgia resident, told The Associated Press he decided to fly home Thursday instead of staying for the game. He said he was in a room overlooking where the attack occurred. He was asleep at the time of the incident, but when he woke up, he saw a blanket covering the body.
Huckabee said he would “probably eat” the $360 per ticket he paid.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “I think the first thing most of us felt this morning was a desire to go home. As important as football is to Georgia's culture, it seems like for a while the game won't be as important.” It was.
Fans line the front desk of the Sheraton Hotel after the Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame was postponed due to the attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on January 1, 2025. (Jeff Burke-Imagine image)
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“And I think there was a lot of uncertainty, and I understand,” Huckabee said. “It took a long time to decide on game times and people had to make decisions without all the information.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told NBC News on Wednesday that the game should be postponed to Friday.
“It's not my decision, but I would like it to be postponed for at least another day. If they ask for my opinion, I will tell them so,” Murrill said. “I think it was wise to delay it for at least a day. This is an active crime scene and they have just finished removing some of the bodies, but not all of them yet. I think we still have to wait.” An extra day. ”
Players from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame spent the day in lockdown, most of it in meetings in the ballroom. Georgia players were bused to the Superdome for a walk-through practice Wednesday night.
Notre Dame players watched the Rose Bowl quarterfinals with their families. Notre Dame offered band members the option of an early flight home, and some chose to do so.
The attack left several people injured, including a University of Georgia student.
“We are deeply saddened by the devastating attack in New Orleans overnight, and our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this terrible tragedy,” University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead said in a statement. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people.”
Sugar Bowl fans from the University of Georgia and Notre Dame stop for photos as New Orleans police and federal agents investigate a suspected terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. I'm taking pictures. (Chris Granger/New Orleans Legal Advocacy Bureau, via AP)
“At this time, I have learned that a University of Georgia student was seriously injured in an attack and is receiving treatment. I have spoken with the student's family, and on behalf of the entire UGA community, I would like to express my concern, support, and well wishes. We would like to thank all the first responders who acted quickly to help those affected by this senseless act of violence, as well as the medical personnel treating the injured. I would like to express it. ”
The University of Georgia Athletic Association and Notre Dame officials said both schools accounted for all team personnel and members of the official traveling party.
Increases game security. New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno told WDSU-TV before the game was postponed that the security perimeter around the facility has been “extended into a wider zone.”
“More police officers are coming,” she said.
Caesars Superdome is also the site of Super Bowl LIX.
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The Superdome hosted the first Super Bowl after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The city also beefed up security at the time, placing police officers, including snipers, on the roofs of surrounding skyscrapers and domes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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