French Quarter will start bag checks as Super Bowl, Mardi Gras security ramps up in New Orleans
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
/2025/01/29/1738170969591.gif?w=3840)
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
People traveling through parts of the French Quarter during Super Bowl week will be subject to bag checks when they pass through new security checkpoints, Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The move is a significant planning change for how the city operates during major events.
The big picture: Since the New Year's Day terrorist attack on Bourbon Street, security has been a primary focus in the city's preparations for Super Bowl and its soon-to-follow Mardi Gras festivities.
- Local leaders are looking to maintain the cultural vibrancy of both events while enforcing new security measures.
- "We want to keep our culture intact but make things safer," New Orleans police superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Tuesday. "When we make things safer, it also means some inconveniences."
How it works: People passing through the new French Quarter checkpoints with bags larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches will be subject to search, Landry said Wednesday.
- Those checkpoints, which primarily surround Bourbon Street, will be in force from Wednesday, Feb. 5, through Monday, Feb. 10, Landry said.
- Vehicle traffic will be restricted to emergency vehicles only, state police said, and hotel visitors should use Royal Street and Dauphine Street entrances where possible. Otherwise, residents and visitors with luggage or traveling in cars will have to show proof of an active hotel reservation or residency.
- Coolers and ice chests will also be prohibited in that area.
A similar security zone will surround the Caesars Superdome.
- Entry sites near the Superdome will be staffed by a mix of private security and local law enforcement, NFL chief security officer Cathy Lanier said Wednesday.
Between the lines: The New Year's Day attacker used coolers to disguise improvised explosive devices, which he placed near Bourbon Street crowds.
- The attacker failed to detonate the devices.
Context: The NFL is taking the lead on security planning for the Super Bowl, but as a SEAR Level 1 event — the highest risk level assigned by the federal government — the plans also include federal, state and local law enforcement.
- Those plans have been in the works for about two years, Lanier said.
- But they've changed since the New Year's Day attack.
What they're saying: "We are really confident in our security plan going into the Super Bowl in New Orleans," Lanier said, noting that no significant credible threats have been detected for the game since New Year's Day.
- The NFL has also offered security training to its thousands of employees, she said.
Yes, but: The best security plans involve the public, too, leaders said this week.
- "Public safety is a team sport," Landry said. "We need your help. If you see something, say something."
- People are asked to flag law enforcement or call 511 if they see suspicious activity.
Some of the NFL security infrastructure, like barricades now being unloaded in the French Quarter, will stick around for Mardi Gras, officials have said.
What we're watching: Recommendations from Teneo, the security consultant firm hired by the NOPD to review its procedures, are already making an impact, Kirkpatrick said.
- And they have a pretty clear idea of what New Orleans should do to make the French Quarter safer. They met last night with neighborhood business leaders to start conversations about those options.
- "The perfect level of security," said Ret. NYPD chief and Teneo consultant Ken Corey, would be to make Bourbon Street a fully pedestrian mall, with no vehicle crossings except for limited, authorized deliveries.
- The concept is still in its early stages, however, with no timeline yet to enact any version of it.