May of 2018 — that’s when it all started.
That’s when the Saints and Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation learned they had been awarded the 2024 Super Bowl. It was the 11th time New Orleans had received this news, tying the city with Miami for the most times a city has hosted the colossal event.
But in 2021, the NFL decided to expand from 16 to 17 regular season games. Unfortunately, this pushed the date of the 2024 Super Bowl into the height of Carnival Season — on Bacchus Sunday.
Fortunately, the Saints and GNOSF anticipated the possibility of a change and had written into the contract that if extra games created a conflict, the city would be awarded the next available Super Bowl. In October 2020, New Orleans was confirmed for the 2025 game instead.
Working around surprises and anticipating potential issues is all part of the job, and it’s one Jay Cicero knows well. President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, Cicero is serving for the third time as president and CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee — he previously led the committees in 2002 and 2013. Back even further, he served as VP of operations for the host committee in 1997.
Cicero is well aware of the opportunity that hosting America’s biggest televised event every year poses for the city. This year’s 2024 Super Bowl — where the San Francisco 49ers played the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas — earned the title of the most watched program in U.S. history. An average of 123.4 million viewers watched the game — representing about a 7% increase over 2023 Super Bowl viewership.
As with tackling any big endeavor, the key is to get the right people on board to plan it. Two years ago, the New Orleans Saints and GNOSF asked Marcus Brown, executive vice president of Entergy (founding partner of the host committee), to serve as chairperson.
As chair, Brown named all the chairs and co-chairs of the 16 different subcommittees charged with handling different aspects of the event. Among them is the Infrastructure and Economic Development Committee, which is led by Michael Hecht, president and CEO of GNO, Inc. Hecht was also involved in the 2013 Super Bowl, where he worked with then-Mayor Landrieu to get the message out that New Orleans post-Katrina was not only back, but better than ever.
With the clock ticking to the big day — February 9, 2025 — Biz New Orleans recently sat down with all three leaders to chat about their vision for what Super Bowl LIX could mean for New Orleans’ future long after the Vince Lombardi trophy finds a new home.
Let’s jump right in with a big, overarching question: What is the main message you want to get out with this Super Bowl?
JAY CICERO There are a lot of messages. For one, it’s a new day in Louisiana and New Orleans. You see this with all the new economic development efforts, which Michael and his group are heading up. You also see how tourism has grown so much in the past 11 years. We want to use this opportunity to tell the 6,000 members of credentialed media who come and cover Super Bowl week about all the great things that are happening in Louisiana and New Orleans.
We have a very active media/PR subcommittee, which is led by Mark Romig. Mark and Rob Hatley from Entergy, are chairing that statewide committee which has, I think, 80 or 90 people on it. Michael sits on that also.
MARCUS BROWN One of the things that we are really focused on is that the country is going through a clean energy transition and Louisiana is the gateway of that. Working closely with Michael and the Economic Development Subcommittee, we think that when we get those corporations, those leaders coming into our region, it’s a great opportunity to sell them on some of the other things we have.
MICHAEL HECHT And just to tag on to what Marcus said from the state perspective — because we’re working very closely with Secretary (Susan) Bourgeois at Louisiana Economic Development — of all the economic diversification and growth opportunities right now, by far the largest is energy and the energy transition. One of the themes that the state is talking about is “Louisiana, the energy of innovation.”
And that, of course, plays in directly to what Marcus was talking about, about us being national, international leaders in this energy space. There will be a lot of stories and themes and tours and facts about the billions that’s being invested in lower carbon energy in Louisiana.
JAY CICERO Another one of our messages is our record-tying 11th Super Bowl with Miami. We’re really leaning into the history of Super Bowl in New Orleans… It goes along with the historic theme New Orleans carries along with it. We have been able to work with the league to get the use of the 10 game logos, the 10 previous artworks for the game tickets, the 10 previous covers for the game programs, and then various video clips of previous games, so we’ll be showcasing all of that. It really all goes to show that Super Bowls are what we do here.
MARCUS BROWN We think about it in terms of this building crescendo, because a community, a state, a region, puts on a Super Bowl. What you’re trying to do is bring along the entire region, and you want thousands of volunteers to be ambassadors. You want people on the street to be informed enough to be great hosts. You want these 6,000 media people to have great stories to tell from all over the region and over the state about what’s going on here.
Our job is to lay the groundwork for this growing storytelling, building and inclusion of all these people along the way. By the time you get to the game, you’ve got an entire region vested in making sure that the experience is one that’s unforgettable for participants, and that the benefits last well beyond the game.
Michael Hecht
Position | President and CEO of GNO, Inc.; Chair of Infrastructure and Economic Development Subcommittee
Super Bowl LIX pick? | Saints against the world!
Fave dome food? | Bloody Mary with the works
Favorite all-time player? | Morten Andersen — “The Great Dane”
2nd string team? | The Giants
Michael, on the infrastructure subcommittee side, what is happening right now?
MICHAEL HECHT The stuff that you’re probably starting to notice now, for better or worse — if you ask my staff who’s trying to get over the bridge this week — is that there’s a punch list of well over 500 projects that are being worked on by about three dozen different agencies… city ones like Department of Public Works… state ones like the transportation department, Sewerage and Water Board, and then the Superdome, the Downtown Development District, the French Quarter.
Some of these are very small projects, like filling in individual potholes or repairing individual lights. Some of them are as large as what we’re going to do with Plaza Tower or the programmable lights going on the bridge. But collectively our goal is to do three things: One is to put on an outstanding Super Bowl that’s centered in the entertainment district, and the epicenter of which is the French Quarter.
The second is, what Marcus and Jay were talking about, to demonstrate our physical capacity to have such an outstanding experience for fans in the media and the NFL that it makes the case for us to host a record-setting 12th Super Bowl.
Finally, there’s the internal sell to the citizens of New Orleans — and why we’re able to ask for their forbearance right now with all the work that’s being done — that these improvements that we’re making are not just cosmetic for the game. We’re taking on years of projects that need to get done and the benefits are going to be enjoyed by the citizens of the region for years, and maybe decades to come. It’s really using the Super Bowl as a forcing function for massive infrastructure rejuvenation.
How is all this infrastructure work being paid for?
MICHAEL HECHT It’s a range of sources, from a lot of the agencies — their operating budgets or their capital budgets. There were some special outlays that were made during the past legislative session for the Super Bowl, and then some (money) is federal or private sector, for example, supporting our homeless encampment strategy.
As you said, a lot of this infrastructure work has been long overdue. Do you think what is happening now will inspire us enough to keep from falling this far behind again?
MICHAEL HECHT Some of the great revelations and joys of this process is that there’s so much enthusiasm and capacity for teamwork that we’re seeing not just within the city, but between different levels — between the city and the state Sewerage and Water Board. And when I talk to Joe Threat, who’s leading this effort as the infrastructure coordinator for the city, he loves the idea of continuing this rhythm that we established with once- or twice-a-week meetings. I really think, to use kind of a sports metaphor, that we’re now developing the muscle memory for an action that I think we’re going to be able to repeat far beyond the Super Bowl.
MARCUS BROWN And the other half of that idea of making long-lasting change is people. You think about the Impact 59 grant program that we have, where the NFL has put up $1.5 million in the matching grant program, which is a collaboration with the Saints, Entergy, Ochsner Health, the United Way of Southeast Louisiana and NOLA Coalition, and other organizations, that are still contributing to that program to award at least $3 million in grants to local nonprofits. That impact is going into these communities, funding these necessary programs, where people are making differences that matter well beyond February 9.
What kind of programs are you talking about, Marcus, that will be receiving funding from Impact 59?
MARCUS BROWN Programs dealing with workforce development, education, environment, poverty, solutions — those are the kinds of things that we’ll be trying to fund. There’s a committee associated with the grant program, and they’ll be taking in grant applications. It’s administered by the United Way…We can’t boil the ocean, so we really want to focus in on a few areas where we could have more impact.
Jay Cicero
Position | President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation; president and CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee
Super Bowl LIX pick? | Saints defeating the Chiefs
Fave dome food? | Classic Dome Dog
Favorite all-time player? | Drew, of course, with Taysom Hill as a close second
2nd string team? | Varies each year. Will follow the Lions this year
This all feels like it’s happening on a very short timeline. Does it feel that way to you?
JAY CICERO I think Michael’s area is probably one of the shorter timelines to accomplish a whole lot. But again, we’ve been working on this for several years leading up to this point. Probably one of the first things we started was the marketing and fundraising committee — you have to raise the funds to help offset all the bid commitments that we made back in 2018 — and so that effort started a few years ago.
Where do those funds come from?
JAY CICERO It’s a combination of public and private funds. There is a grant from the state of Louisiana through the State Major Event Incentive Fund that we helped create as a sports foundation seven or eight years ago. At the time we were bidding on the 2020 College Football Playoff Nationa Championship game (which we received and LSU happened to win). We’ve used the grant for the NBA All-Star game, for the NCAA Men’s Final Four and, other major events that come along.
Right now for the Super Bowl we’re in the last quarter of our fundraising, to use a football term, and we’re hopefully getting down to the two-minute warning pretty soon.
All in all, how many people are involved in pulling this all together?
JAY CICERO I’d say close to 1,000 at this point, when you include everyone. The Security Committee is probably 500 people by itself, when you consider all the agencies working together, and all the sub-groups that they have. That’s an event in itself. I have to really emphasize that Mrs. Benson and the Saints are such a big part of this. Quite simply, no Saints, no Superbowl.
MARCUS BROWN Let me put the plug in very quickly for the Sustainability Committee, because if you think about the impact that a Super Bowl can have on the community, you know, potentially negatively when it comes to waste, this committee is thinking of what we can do to limit that.
Think about what you’ve heard at the Olympics using cardboard beds, that’s thinking in advance of a big event, so that it doesn’t leave a negative impact.
Who’s involved with that?
MARCUS BROWN The chair is Elizabeth Adams, who’s from Entergy, and it’s got a cross-functional group of leaders from a lot of companies from the region.
What do you see as the biggest challenges going forward? Michael, you have said that you have your own personal pothole; that if it’s not filled by the night before the game you’ll be out there with a shovel.
MICHAEL HECHT It’s really funny. I was actually talking this morning to somebody who may or may not be the announcer for the Saints, whose father may or may not have done it for 44 years. And he said, “Michael, there’s this one pothole I want to talk to you about. It’s right when you’re getting on … ” — I said, “That’s my personal pothole!” We checked with DPW, and there’s a notice to proceed on August 9 with work to start by August 15. One of the things that’s exciting about this is that, because of the compressed timeline, there’s a sense of urgency, and we’re able to see results fairly quickly, and I think that’s helping to create the momentum.
I have to ask, where is this pothole?
MICHAEL HECHT It’s at the entrance to I-10, at the intersection of Claiborne and Poydras. Tesla’s and other autonomous vehicles have it programmed into their software so they know to swerve. I guess they’ll have to be reprogrammed soon.
JAY CICERO Fundraising is one of the largest challenges that we have, and I said we’re in the last quarter of that right now. It’s a daunting task to raise private funds needed in a state where we only have two Fortune 500 companies.
The fundraising we do, however, is important because it helps us to be competitive with other cities and keep the costs lower in New Orleans than other cities. The Sports Foundation will basically donate our staff for the entire time, except for the staff that that we have to hire just for Super Bowl. It’s about being resourceful, as only New Orleans can do. We’re very resourceful people. We find ways to do things and deliver things better than other cities at less cost.
MARCUS BROWN That leads us to something else we’re focused on right now, and that’s the volunteers. We’ve got a need for thousands of volunteers to work in the Super Bowl and support the fan base in a lot of different ways. I think September 27 is the deadline to send in applications for those who want to participate in the ambassador program, which is being sponsored by Chevron. Anyone at least 18 can go to NolaSuperBowl.com and get more information.
Marcus Brown
Position | Executive Vice President of Entergy; Founding Partner and Chairperson of the Super Bowl Host Committee
Super Bowl LIX pick? | My dream scenario would be the Saints versus the Bengals ( Burrow).
Fave dome food? | Beau Coup BBQ and a Big Freezy Daiquiri
Favorite all-time player? | Drew Brees or Ricky Jackson—hard to choose one
2nd string team? | Saints fans don’t have a second favorite team. It’s ride or die with the Saints.
What do ambassadors do?
JAY CICERO They’ll be working meet-and-greet at the airport, first, and at the private airports, as well as working Downtown and at our special events that we’re hosting. We’re leaning into this history of the Super Bowl theme, so there are going to be phone games that our ambassadors are going to engage tourists and visitors to play about the history of Super Bowl in New Orleans to win prizes.
You’ve mentioned some big companies like Chevron and Entergy and Ochsner; what are the opportunities like for other businesses to capitalize on the Super Bowl?
JAY CICERO Right after the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas we started the Supplier Diversity Program. It’s now called the NFL Source. The NFL uses it not only for Super Bowl, but for the draft and all the other major events that the NFL produces each year.
We have more than 120 local, diverse businesses involved in the Super Bowl LIX Source here in New Orleans, and they will have the opportunity to bid on business from the NFL and Super Bowl. It’s about not only opportunities for bidding, but the ability to learn how to improve your business by working through a professional organization like the NFL and its education programs. The Source now will be living with the New Orleans Saints after Super Bowl. That’s a legacy piece of all of this.
JAY CICERO The economic impact from 2013’s Super Bowl was about $480 million, but then what we also saw happen is we had a heck of a lot of business, especially tourist business, business conventions, that were booked after the Super Bowl. We need to be able to turn that long-term bump on for more sectors in the business community.
Michael, what are you hoping to achieve when it comes to boosting our emerging energy sector?
MICHAEL HECHT Right now, Louisiana is arguably best positioned in the nation to lead the energy transition to an all-of-the-above, lower-carbon future. I’m talking about what we’re doing in traditional sectors like oil and gas or LNG. It’s also newer sectors like hydrogen and biofuels and wind and solar.
The way that we’re trying to play this, working with the state and other economic development organizations, is that there are these companies that are investing literally tens of billions of dollars — for example, we have perhaps $60 billion worth of potential carbon capture projects in our pipeline. Those companies are going to be locating those facilities along the river and in industrial parts of the state. We think that’s fantastic. It’s exactly where they should be in terms of infrastructure. But then there’s an opportunity for them to put their headquarters in the urban core, in places like Downtown New Orleans and Jefferson or the North Shore. We’re going to use the Super Bowl as an opportunity to talk about the urban core of the region as a place for energy transition companies to locate their headquarters or their regional offices, their people and their families.
Our ability to project a place that has excellent infrastructure, of course wonderful culture and wonderful people, but that also has an energy and an excitement, and a positive momentum is all part of this overall recruiting strategy for these large energy transition companies from around the world.
I’m assuming affordability is a part of the sell as well, because we have pretty affordable office space.
MICHAEL HECHT Yeah, it’s affordability. It’s the alacrity that you’re seeing now from the state with the governor and the economic development secretary. It’s our suite of incentives which are about as good as any place in the country. It’s our partners, first and foremost, Entergy, truly as an industrial partner, and then just a business community and leadership that I think is second to none in terms of the willingness to get involved and help make companies feel comfortable.
Altogether, I think it’s an unbeatable package. The challenge that we typically have is that we just don’t have the scale — back to what Jay said earlier — in terms of the size of the state or money, to really have the presence that a Texas, for example, would have. Hosting the Super Bowl for about five days, however, dramatically changes that map by putting us in front of 200 million people. It’s a marketing opportunity that is unparalleled for us, and so we aim to take advantage of it.
