Yesterday, Governor Jeff Landry hosted a press conference about the upcoming Super Bowl in February at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The last time New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl was back in 2013.

In the press conference, Landry shared the stage with the other civic leaders and elected officials involved with the planning of Super Bowl LIX—including GNO Inc President Michael Hecht, New Orleans Mayor Cantrell, and Lt. Governor Nungesser.

New Orleans is a first-class city, and we need to ensure that we are putting our best infrastructure and economic development foot forward as we welcome thousands of visitors for Super Bowl LIX.

The story of New Orleans is the story of Louisiana, and the Super Bowl creates a… pic.twitter.com/EM0MeMmXNd

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) June 4, 2024

We are only 250 days until the Super Bowl, and this press conference did not reassure me that New Orleans is ready for a massive event like the Super Bowl. You can watch the press conference below if you’re curious, but the press conference was mostly filled with general bromides about cooperation and diversity. The speakers did not provide specific details as to how the city actually plans to fix the long-time issues facing New Orleans in preparation of such an enormous event.

Two persistent issues that have plagued New Orleans for years are crime and poor infrastructure. These issues need some major correction, but no one (including Governor Landry) seems to want to admit that these problems are severe.

Is New Orleans safe enough to host an event as large as the Super Bowl? Is New Orleans infrastructure ready to handle hundreds of thousands of people who plan to travel to the city in February 2025? These are fair questions we will briefly today.

#1 Crime

Through the first five months of 2024, New Orleans has experienced 63 murders. While violent crime has drastically decreased over the past three years, New Orleans is still one of the most dangerous cities in America. Just two years ago, New Orleans was infamously dubbed the “murder capital” of America.

Last weekend, five murders took place in three parishes in Southeast Louisiana. Two weeks ago, three people were shot on Canal Street in the middle of a weekday afternoon. Clearly, New Orleans possesses some safety concerns for visitors and residents alike.

On a positive note, the addition of Troop NOLA has been an encouraging development under the Landry administration in recent months, and we can expect the city to hire additional security from the surrounding parishes for Super Bowl LIX—similar to what was done for last Mardi Gras.

Any high-profile criminal incidents during the event will surely harm the city’s image in the eyes of the country, so public safety for this event should be of utmost priority.

While there are public safety measures in place, the sad reality is that New Orleans will go back to its typical dangerous ways once the Super Bowl is over. Wouldn’t it be nice if New Orleans was safe for residents on a daily basis, and not just for tourists attending a once-every-decade event?

#2 Infrastructure

It is not controversial to say that New Orleans has terrible infrastructure. The street lights downtown regularly don’t work, potholes remain unfilled, and only moderate rain storms often flood the city.

Public officials claimed that scores of infrastructure projects are under way. Their original goal was to complete 500 projects before February, but it is no longer realistic to expect all 5oo projects to be done in eight months.

However, most of these infrastructure projects will focus on fixing up the French Quarter, Central Business District, and Warehouse District. So, the rest of the city should not expect infrastructure relief in the coming months.

The city of New Orleans is dying, and Governor Landry and other officials need to step up to save our state’s most important city. Cantrell and the New Orleans City Council haven’t shown any ability to fix the city in recent decades, so Landry and the state government is all that we have left to actually follow through.

Making limited preparations–no matter how big the event–does not address the fundamental issues plaguing New Orleans. Crime, vagrancy, infrastructure, and limited economic development must be addressed more sincerely and permanently.

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Nathan Koenig is a frequent contributor to RVIVR.com, a national conservative political site affiliated with The Hayride. Follow his writing on the Louisiana First Standard Substack, on Twitter (X) @LAFirstStandard, and on Instagram @tincanconservative. Email him here: louisianafirststandard@proton.me