Sugar Bowl Executive Director Paul Hoolahan met with BCS Coordinator and Big XII Commissioner Kevin Weiderg Tuesday to discuss the future site of the Sugar Bowl.
Since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina left the Louisiana Superdome an unavailable site for any games indefinitely, there have been continuous observations for the next best site.
The New Orleans Saints already have rerouted its season to San Antonio, Texas and Tiger Stadium. Tiger Stadium is also a possible site for the Sugar Bowl.
“Keeping the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana is still doable,” Hoolahan said. “We are talking with city officials, merchandise officials – they are all in the process. It is an ongoing process of accumulating data and maintaining the event in the state of Louisiana.”
The main concern with Baton Rouge is the accommodations for visiting teams and fans during bowl week.
“One of the key issues is hotel availability,” Hoolahan said. “FEMA officials and the recovery unit are filling rooms as they become available.”
While there are still concerns with the only possible Louisiana location, Hollahan has been looking elsewhere.
“To move out of Louisiana would be gut-wrenching for us and the state of Louisiana, but we have to understand what is best for the long-term relationship with the BCS and SEC,” Hoolahan said. “We do not want to put all of our eggs in one basket so we are looking at different venues. We have the option of playing in the Georgia Dome on the table.”
Although the hotel vacancy is a big disadvantage for the state of Louisiana, the history and the tradition of the Sugar Bowl will play a big factor in the decision-making process.
“The Sugar Bowl is an ongoing tradition with Louisiana, and we want to be a part of the story with Louisiana and the Gulf Coast,” Weiderg said. “The Sugar Bowl has a history of hosting the Southeastern Conference and that is a key consideration in a primary host.”
Further discussion is taking place in the SEC Commissioner’s office because the Sugar Bowl usually consists of the SEC champion and an at-large team.
“In difference to the Sugar Bowl, we want to make sure it is close to normal as possible,” said Associate SEC Commissioner Charles Bloom. “Louisiana is a positive and good location. It is almost unfair not to have it in Louisiana.”
Both options will be discussed for the rest of September. Hoolahan announced a deadline Tuesday set for the first week of October to decide the future Sugar Bowl site.
“Time is essence, and the event is fastly approaching,” Hoolahan said. “We need time to make a decision. We want to make decisions to produce an event that reflects the work of over 70 or something years and maintain the best event as possible.”
Contact Tabby Soignier at [email protected]