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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial

Aired January 27, 2002 - 17:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Officials in the Big Easy are a bit uneasy about the circumstances surrounding this year's Super Bowl. The upcoming game at Louisiana Super Dome will be played amid very, very tight security. New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial joins us now from New Orleans with a preview of some of the precautions that are taking place.

So, Mr. Mayor, give us a sense as to what some of the visitors to your town are going to be encountering? This is a first for a Super Bowl to get this sort of national security special event status.

MAYOR MARC MORIAL, NEW ORLEANS: It's very welcome that we received this status, because what it means is we've had an unprecedented coordination with federal law enforcement, state law enforcement and local law enforcement, and there will be more law enforcement officers working this Super Bowl than the eight others that we have hosted here in New Orleans.

Much of what we are doing may not be immediately visible to the naked eye, until one goes to the Super Dome. Around the dome there will be in effect a sterile area, and people who go to the dome will have to pass through a metal detection system. We are going to discourage people from bringing purses, fanny packs or any items of that sort, so security at the venue, at the stadium is going to be very tight.

But we are confident that this is going to be a safe Super Bowl. It's going to be a Super Bowl that's going to have a theme of patriotism. No pun for the Patriots, of course. And it's going to be I think a great game. We're going to have good weather in a great city.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, how do you go about getting the word out to almost 75,000 people who you hopefully will be filling the stadium that they can't bring their purses, they can't bring any bags. These are things that people ordinarily might want to tow along when going to the Super Bowl just to be comfortable.

MORIAL: Well, that effort starts today with this interview and with a lot of public education and public information efforts that are going to take place between now and next Sunday. And those are going to include reinforcing the idea that we want people to come to the game, without some of the things that they would normally bring to a football game. And we think if people are on due notice that they will come to the game and be prepared to have a good time, but not bring the kinds of things that they might normally bring. And in addition to that, we will be encouraging people to come to the game early. There will be an exciting pre-game show with music and the light that the National Football League has organized.

So I think that people can feel very secure that safety is a high priority at this game, and that there's been an unprecedented effort to make sure that this Super Bowl is going to be a safe event.

WHITFIELD: You yourself mentioned that New Orleans has hosted at least eight other Super Bowls. You are used to the crowds, handling people for coming from all other parts of the country, but this time is particularly different, for obvious reasons. But similar to the last Super Bowl that you hosted -- I was there for that, it was shortly after the Atlanta Olympic Park bombing, security was tight. How many notches above are we talking this go-around?

MORIAL: I really think -- we're talking about several notches above, because in the post-9/11 climate, we are dealing with a whole host of new risks. But we have the very best experts and professionals in security from throughout the United States, along with our very, very good New Orleans police department, who I might add probably the best police department -- not probably, but definitely the best police department in the country when it comes to crowd control, all working together to make sure that this is going to be a safe and secure game.

And I might add that many of the things that we are doing people may not immediately see, but we want people to come to New Orleans, have a festive time and feel safe.

WHITFIELD: And not only that, your economy could certainly probably use this shot in the arm. You're going to have an awful lot of visitors in from out of town, with whomever ends up -- we know the Patriots are going to be there, but who knows what the other team might be. How helpful might this be for a lot of your hotels and restaurants who just haven't seen the crowds like they used to?

MORIAL: This is really -- this game is the granddady of special events. It represents about $300 million economic impact for our community. That's hotels spending, restaurant spending, special event spending, taxi cabs, limos, florists, caterers, retail spending. There is no other single special event in the country that has the kind of economic impact that the Super Bowl has. So it's welcome. We are very excited and very encouraged, and I know it's going to be a great game, and a great event for our city.

WHITFIELD: OK, you can't talk New Orleans and not talk about food, Mr. Mayor. So I'm going to put you on the spot, you are going to have some recommendations out there. You got crowds coming in; what are some of the hotspot restaurants that they need to be checking out when they come there?

MORIAL: Oh, you are going to get me in trouble, because you know what, there is not a bad place to eat in the city, but I recommend if you come to New Orleans you have to try the gumbo. There is no one way to make gumbo. There are many ways to make gumbo, so maybe everywhere you go you may wish to sample the gumbo, and you will be satisfied.

WHITFIELD: OK, you are going to see the Patriot fans there...

MORIAL: I ducked that question, didn't I?

WHITFIELD: Yeah, you did. You did that with diplomacy. That was clever. You still have to visit your restaurants in town, you don't want to make any enemies. The Patriots are going to be there. Who are you hoping might be joining them in the Super Dome there?

MORIAL: Well, both Philadelphia and St. Louis would bring great crowds and a lot of excitement. I think St. Louis may be for some New Orleanians a little bit of a sentimental favorite because of Marshall Faulk. Marshall Faulk is a native New Orleanian, as is Aeneas Williams. Both of them play for the Rams, but we will take either team, because I know the Patriots are going to be ready, and both teams are going to bring nice crowds and a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. So whether it's the Rams or the Eagles -- and we'll know in a short period of time -- it's going to be a great contest.

WHITFIELD: All right. Have a good time in the Big Easy, and hopefully it will be very safe for everyone there too. Thank you very much, Mayor Marc Morial for joining us. Thanks a lot.

MORIAL: Thank you very much.

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