Hy and Christopher kick off the second segment of this week's show wondering if Louisiana’s Republican Governor has become a socialist? Facing skyrocketing property insurance rates, Landry is proposing a government intervention more to Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warner - or is he?As the governor stated, "What we've seen with insurance companies is they've enriched shareholders but it's made the American consumer poor," Landry said. "I don't know if it should be against public policy in this country for an insurance company to be publicly controlled. We have to have an honest discussion about it."But it’s our discussion at the beginning of the show that really captures a question. Is the investment in the Super Bowl worth it?As Christopher writes this week in his newspaper column: There was a weird quiet on Magazine Street the weekend of the Super Bowl. Shops that counted on throngs of tourists often laid empty, not even locals, wanting to brave the chaos – which never came.The same proved true for bars and eateries downtown, at least those left unrented out for private events. They, too, often sat empty. Wealthy visitors went to private parties or straight to the Superdome from their jets.America’s powerful and mighty descended upon New Orleans, yet many of the politically unconnected did not benefit from those making their way to the Dome, which seems odd as Armstrong Airport noted 43,188 passengers were processed through their security checkpoint. In contrast, the last day of Taylor Swift's “Eras” tour in New Orleans previously held the record with 32,134 passengers being processed through security on Oct. 27, 2024. An estimated 100,000 people poured into the city for an event expected to generate at least $150 million in profit for the city. National media gushed about the purple-carpeted Bourbon Street and the absence of street crime all weekend, the kind of positive PR for the Crescent City that civic leaders foretell future tourism increases.The Sports Management Research Institute, a firm that works with sports leagues that include the NFL, issued a press release highlighting the huge economic impact the game delivers to New Orleans and boasting of skyrocketing hotel rates in the New Orleans area – with an average price of $4,625 per night for four-star accommodations and $847 per night for two-star accommodations. A Motel 6 on the West Bank was selling rooms for $750.Nevertheless, concerns over crime after the January 1 terrorist attack matched with a general inability to board private or public transport out of the barricades littered throughout the French Quarter and CBD entertainment zones left many exterior businesses without customers on Super Bowl weekend. And often even within.A cursory examination by The Louisiana Weekly on the morning of the game revealed quite a few empty bars and restaurants in the Vieux Carre. Essentially, as one bar owner put it to this newspaper privately, “If you don’t have an event booking out for your place, you were empty…I know my bar was.”“We had two good nights but it wasn’t busy like we would be for a big convention because it’s hard to compete when the NFL sponsors so many events,” said Dickie Brennan to the daily paper. Nonetheless, he noted the “$4 billion ad campaign for the city of New Orleans.”“That helps everybody,” Brennan argued. But does it? Only if we capitalize on the publicity to actually lure business to Louisiana, former state Senate and Port of New Orleans President Conrad Appel maintained.“Pardon my use of an expression from a different sport, but the Superbowl was a homerun! New Orleans was on display and did itself proud as the unchallenged leader in the game of fielding major international events.“But there is another, much more subtle game at play,” Appel continued, “and it is an open question whether this Superbowl paid off in a way that the major investment by the people should return.”“On Sunday morning, while near Lakefront airport, I watched dozens of really large private jets come in one after the other; the tarmac at the airport was already crowded with earlier arrivals. Who were these people who could afford to fly to New Orleans just to watch a football game? The answer is simple: New Orleans has attracted some of the most successful entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the world.“The other game at play is in reality but a major challenge for us. What will it take for us to convince those superstars of American capitalism to not just fly in and fly out, but instead that they see the value of doing business in Louisiana and relocating or growing their businesses in New Orleans and Louisiana."For as long as anyone can remember, the facts are that tourists flock here for a visit and then return home to live their lives, to their home where they believe that there is an economy and a quality of life that will support their dreams. Businesspeople attend conventions here, enjoy ...
