UPDATE: The Sugar Bowl has since been postponed until Thursday.
The Sugar Bowl will be played as scheduled on Wednesday night following the deadly attack that killed 10 people and injured several others in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
According to ESPN, New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said officers “would work to ensure safety at the Sugar Bowl,” which will feature Georgia and Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup at the Caesars Superdome in downtown New Orleans. Meanwhile, Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley issued the following statement on Wednesday morning:
“The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available.”
Kirkpatrick’s comments and Hundley’s statement come just hours after the mass casualty incident, in which a suspect reportedly plowed through crowds on Bourbon Street while driving a pickup truck as people celebrated New Year’s Eve overnight. Officials say that the male suspect was shot and killed by police while exiting the truck. He had allegedly been in possession of an assault rifle and was firing a gun while driving through the crowd, with the attack ultimately resulting in at least 10 deaths and 35 people injured as of Wednesday morning.
Per ESPN’s report officials are also investigating the discovery of at least one suspected explosive device that was found at the scene, according to Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office.
“He was hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did,” Kirkpatrick said. “It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could.”
As details regarding the attack continue to be uncovered and made public, the Sugar Bowl — which is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 p.m. ET — will move forward as scheduled. In addition to the Sugar Bowl on Wednesday, New Orleans is set to host the NFL’s Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
[ESPN]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.