Gov. Jeff Landry and his economic development team are planning a lavish week of Super Bowl events in New Orleans for a small group of executives as part of an effort to raise the state’s game when it comes to attracting investment.
The plan is to lay out the red carpet for senior executives from about two dozen big companies, with events that will combine the city’s cultural and entertainment offerings with education about the state’s industries and investment incentives.
It will culminate with seats for the group of business leaders in Landry’s section at the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9 to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Landry announced earlier this month that he would host “business executives, athletes, dignitaries, and artists from around the world at the Louisiana NOW Pavilion,” though his office has provided few details about the visitors or events planned.
Landry’s spokesperson, Kate Kelly, said Tuesday they were holding back details for security reasons but would have more to say next week.
Magnificent group
Though the governor’s office is staying mum for now, sources familiar with the planning say the business group will include top-level teams from three “Magnificent Seven” companies, which is the name given to the seven largest U.S. technology companies. They include Amazon, Google’s parent Alphabet, Tesla, Facebook parent Meta, chip maker Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft. Also on that list are executive teams from two energy companies, a steel company and a video entertainment company, according to the sources.
Landry’s “base camp” and the site of most of the economic promotion events will be “The NOW Pavilion,” which is a large tented structure that has been erected on the Hilton Riverside parking lot next to the Riverwalk mall—known as the Whale Lot. The lot is usually used for subsidized parking for Riverwalk shoppers but will be closed all next week for the event.
Louisiana Economic Development will host “Innovation Day” at the NOW Pavilion on Friday, Feb. 7. That will be a day-long symposium open to a larger group of about 400 participants, and will include specially created films highlighting the state’s economic history and diversity.
Josh Fleig, LED’s chief innovation officer, will lead discussions about Louisiana’s investment scene throughout the day with local leaders, including Kimberly Graham, chief innovation and technology officer at Tulane, and Matt Wisdom, CEO and founder of PixelSquid, Shutterstock and other startups.
Tentpole event
Innovation day participants will include local and visiting investors and entrepreneurs; members of the Young Presidents Organization, a networking group for executives; the rapper and entrepreneur Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, who is an investor in G-Unit Studios in Shreveport; as well as Landry’s VIP executive teams.
Landry will host a cocktail party at the NOW Pavilion that Friday for “about 800” guests and lead an economic development panel on Saturday, Kelly said.
The core group of top-level executives also will have the opportunity to tour NASA’s Michoud facility in New Orleans East during the week, as well as a visit to Esplanade Studios, Louisiana’s largest recording studio, which is owned by Grammy winner Misha Kachkachishvili.
They are also invited to ride in a float for the Super Bowl parade and there are various French Quarter drinks and cocktail gatherings.
“The idea is to counter the narrative of Big Ass Beers and all of that and to show these executives from around the country the other side of New Orleans,” said an official organizing the events who wasn’t authorized to be quoted by name.
Governor Jeff Landry, at podium, and state a local officials and members of the business community announced plans for hosting the Super Bowl next year. The event was held at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (Staff photo by John McCusker, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
The city’s economic development team will not be directly involved in the weeklong effort. The local economic development agency, New Orleans Business Alliance, was defunded and stopped operating last month. Officials from Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s Office of Economic Development have been invited to attend some of the events as guests. City officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Landry’s Super Bowl promotion is part of the initiative set out publicly last June, when he announced a plan to try and fix as many of New Orleans’ longstanding infrastructure problems as possible in the seven months before the game. At the time, he and Cantrell appointed Michael Hecht, CEO of GNO Inc., the regional economic development agency, to coordinate that effort as well as plans to promote the greater metro area to potential investors.
Landry also said at the time that hosting the Super Bowl, when the world’s media attention is focused on the city, would be an opportunity to put New Orleans’ “best foot forward” and try and tell a broader economic story about the state.
A big platform
Since he took office in January 2024, Landry has made it clear that he plans big changes in the state’s industrial policy. That has included making efforts to break norms to put his own people on state-run boards and introducing a powerful new body to oversee port strategy.
It has also included a more aggressive approach to attracting investment. Last October, Landry traveled to South Korea to press for a deal with Huyndai Steel, whose executives are expected to be among the governor’s party at the Super Bowl LIX.
Landry and LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois also made special concessions last year to entice Meta to choose north Louisiana as one of its sites for a planned $65 billion data center roll out to meet the requirements of the artificial intelligence boom.
Bourgeois said the Louisiana NOW Pavilion is an opportunity to start “changing the national narrative about Louisiana by showing how new leaders with a new vision are transforming Louisiana into a forward-thinking state with abundant opportunities for capital investment and career advancement.”