Law enforcement conduct an investigation in connection with the New Orleans terrorist attack near the intersection of Hugh Road and Crescent Peak Drive in Houston, Texas on January 1, 2025.  Photo courtesy of AFP
WORLD

Sugar Bowl postponed over New Orleans attack

Agence France-Presse

The Sugar Bowl, a major U.S. college football playoff game that attracts tens of thousands of fans to New Orleans, has been postponed by one day following Wednesday’s deadly truck-ramming attack, officials said.

"All agree that it's in the best interest of everybody... that we postpone the game for 24 hours," Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said during a press conference about the matchup between the University of Georgia and the University of Notre Dame.

The game, originally scheduled for Wednesday evening, will now take place on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. (2100 GMT), organizers announced.

"The postponement will allow for additional security resources to be deployed in order to meet the typical standards for a major event at the Caesars Superdome," the statement read, noting that some officers had been redeployed to assist with the attack investigation.

A Georgia student was critically injured in the attack, the university’s president confirmed.

Notre Dame officials said all team personnel had been accounted for.

The two teams are competing for a spot in the college football playoff semifinals.

The Sugar Bowl will be held at New Orleans’s Superdome, which is also set to host the NFL’s Super Bowl on 9 February. The venue’s maximum capacity for football games is just under 75,000.

Each year, visitors flock to New Orleans for Mardi Gras festivities, which culminate on 4 March, although the celebrations begin weeks earlier.