The Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game, set to take place on New Year’s Day, has been postponed after a deadly attack in New Orleans left at least 10 people dead and dozens more injured.
According to Jason Williams, the district attorney of Orleans Parish, who was in a press briefing with law enforcement officials, the game will be postponed to Thursday “at the exact same time.” Officials confirmed the 24-hour postponement during a news conference shortly after.
The Superdome, which was set to host the quarterfinal game between Georgia and Notre Dame Wednesday night, had been on lockdown for security sweeps after a truck plowed into a New Year’s crowd about a mile away.
The game had been scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m. local time (8:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. PT).
People with offices in the Superdome — including officials with the Sugar Bowl and Sun Belt Conference — were told not to come into work until further notice.
“The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said. “We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available.”
A person familiar with the situation said officials were waiting to get an all-clear from authorities that it would be safe to keep the event at the 70,000-seat stadium on schedule.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive and fluid nature of the discussions with authorities.
The casualties occured when a driver rammed a pickup truck 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 attack at about 3:15 a.m. along Bourbon Street near Canal Street, the FBI said.
The Georgia and Notre football teams arrived in New Orleans on Sunday and have been staying at downtown hotels just blocks away from where the violence occurred.
The Superdome, which is about 20 blocks away, also is scheduled to host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Notre Dame said they were “working with law enforcement and others to determine the full scope and impact of the tragedy.”
“We ask our fans to join us in prayer for those injured and lost in this senseless act of violence. Those staying at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel are welcome to join us for the previously scheduled Mass there at 11 a.m. Otherwise, we ask that you join us in prayer from wherever you are,” the university wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
We ask our fans to join us in prayer for those injured and lost in this senseless act of violence. Those staying at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel are welcome to join us for the previously scheduled Mass there at 11 a.m. Otherwise, we ask that you join us in prayer from…
— University of Notre Dame (@NotreDame) January 1, 2025
The attack, which the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism, occurred on Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties.
The driver was killed in a firefight with police, the FBI said.
At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell also described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional.
New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
