SEAT AND A ONE ON ONE WITH LOUISIANA’S TOP ELECTED LEADER ON SUPER BOWL PREPARATIONS, AND WHY HE SAYS THE DOME WILL BE TRANSFORMED IN THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS. HERE’S WDSU ANCHOR TRAVERS MACKEL WITH GOVERNOR JEFF LANDRY. CAN EVERYTHING THAT YOU ALL WANT TO GET DONE HAPPEN IN THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS? IF I DIDN’T THINK IT, WE WOULDN’T HAVE PUT IT ON THE LIST. THE GOVERNOR’S SUPER BOWL PLAN IS ROBUST. NEW STREETS, SIDEWALKS, INFRASTRUCTURE, CRIME ISSUES ALL SET TO HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS IN THIS CITY. I THINK THAT THE MORE PEOPLE ARE WORKING TOGETHER, THE MORE WE’RE COMMUNICATING, THE MORE EVERYONE IS GETTING ALONG AND UNDERSTANDS A COMMON OBJECTIVE. I THINK WE GET IT DONE, AND I THINK IT’S NOT ONLY GOOD FOR THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, BUT IT’S GOOD FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AS A WHOLE. SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT YOU ALL ARE SUGGESTING AS A SUPER BOWL TEAM TO DO SO STREETS, SIDEWALKS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, HAVE NOT GOTTEN DONE FOR YEARS IN THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. HOW CAN YOU AND THIS TEAM TALK TURN TALK INTO ACTION? WELL, LOOK, THERE’S A LOT OF THINGS IN THIS STATE THAT HAVEN’T BEEN DONE WELL THAT OVER THE LAST 120 DAYS, WE’VE SHOWN, UM, THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE THAT WE CAN DO. AND WE DIDN’T DO IT JUST IT’S NOT ME THAT’S DOING IT. IT’S ABOUT BUILDING A TEAMWORK. IT’S ABOUT TALKING TO PEOPLE. IT’S ABOUT PUSHING THEM. IT’S ABOUT SAYING, HEY, WE NEED TO GET IT DONE. THESE ARE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENTS TODAY FOR THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. AND THE SUPER BOWL. BUT IF WE GET TO SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, WHEN DO YOU HAVE A TIMELINE WHERE YOU PICK UP THE PHONE AND YOU CALL THE MAYOR OR MICHAEL HECK OR ANYBODY ELSE IN NEW ORLEANS AND SAY, HEY, YOU NEED TO GET THIS GOING. THIS IS BEHIND SCHEDULE. WHEN DO YOU HAVE AN ETERNAL DEADLINE WHERE YOU SAY, I WANT TO SEE STUFF DONE AT A CERTAIN POINT EVERY DAY WHEN I WAKE UP, LOOK, WE WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT THEY HIT THE DEADLINES AND WE’RE AND LOOK, I THINK MICHAEL IS GOING TO DO A FANTASTIC JOB. HE KNOWS ALL THE PLAYERS IN THE CITY. UM, HE’S BEEN HERE. HE UNDERSTANDS THE CITY. UH, WE’VE GIVEN HIM ACCESS TO THE ADMINISTRATION. WE KEEP SAYING, WELL, CAN YOU DO THIS? WHY? WE HAVEN’T DONE IT BEFORE. I DON’T BUY THAT. I MEAN, LOOK WHAT THE TWO TEAMS THAT ARE GOING TO PLAY IN THE SUPER BOWL, OKAY, ARE CHAMPIONS. WHY? BECAUSE THEY DON’T BELIEVE IN. CAN THE TWO TEAMS THAT ARE GOING TO SHOW UP IN NEW ORLEANS TO PLAY FOR THE SUPER BOWL DID NOT BELIEVE I CAN’T BE IN THE SUPER BOWL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON. SO WE’RE GOING TO TAKE THE ATTITUDE THAT WE CAN DO IT AND WE’RE GOING TO REPAIR IT, AND WE’RE GOING TO HIT THE DEADLINES. AND SURE, WE MAY HAVE SOME SLIPS OF OR BUMPS ALONG THE WAY, BUT WE’RE GOING TO SMOOTH THOSE THINGS OUT AND WE’RE GOING TO JUST KEEP WORKING UNTIL WE GET TO SUPER BOWL DAY. ALL THESE LARGE SCALE EVENTS THAT WE LOVE. THERE’S A LOT OF COMPETITION. SO. SO WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON DOING TO MAKE SURE THIS ISN’T THE LAST ONE THAT WE HEARD? I THINK WE CONTINUE TO CREATE A VISION. I THINK WITH WHAT WE’RE DOING TODAY IS BY SETTING EXPECTATIONS HIGH, RIGHT, BY SAYING, HEY, LOOK, THIS IS A A REAL A REAL TIMELINE THAT WE CAN MEET BY PUTTING ON AN EVENT AS BIG AS THE SUPER BOWL. I THINK THAT OPENS US UP TO, AGAIN, GOING BACK AND SAYING, HEY, FINAL FOUR, WE WANT YOU TO COME HERE. SUGAR BOWL. IT’S GOING TO BE GREAT. ALL THE OTHER TYPES OF VENUES, I THINK THAT NEW ORLEANS, THAT THE ONLY CITY THAT COMPETES WITH NEW ORLEANS IN HOSTING SPORTING EVENTS MAY BE LAS VEGAS. I THINK THAT NEW ORLEANS IS THE PREMIER PLACE FOR HOLDING SPORTING EVENTS. WHY? BECAUSE OF THE ARENAS. BECAUSE OF THE VENUES IN SUCH A CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE HOTELS, EVERYTHING’S IN WALKING DISTANCE. YOU SIGNED RECENT LEGISLATION DEALING WITH LGBTQ ISSUES WITH REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ISSUES AND ABORTION PILLS. ARE ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL THAT ANY OF THOSE STANCES COULD IMPACT LARGE SCALE EVENTS FROM COMING HERE THAT OTHER STATES HAVE DEALT WITH? I DON’T I DON’T BECAUSE I DON’T THINK THEY CAN MOVE THE SUPERDOME. AND I DON’T THINK THEY CAN MOVE THE HOTELS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SUPERDOME. AND I DON’T THINK THEY CAN MOVE THE RESTAURANTS. AND QUITE FRANKLY, ALL OF THE CITIES THAT YOU SAY WE’RE COMPETING ON ARE IN RED STATES OR IN STATES THAT ARE EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE, HAVE IMPOSED EVEN HARD IF YOU SAY HARSHER OR MORE STRINGENT LAWS, DEPENDING UPON HOW YOU VIEW THEM. I THINK THAT WHAT YOU’RE SEEING IS I THINK ALL OF THAT IS, IS REALLY JUST FODDER. I THINK IT’S REALLY JUST JUST IT’S WHITE NOISE. I THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME HERE. YOU ORLEANS HAS ALWAYS BEEN MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE, ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE CITIES IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY SINCE ITS INCEPTION. WE ALSO ASKED LANDRY ABOUT THE RECENT GAMESMANSHIP BETWEEN THE SAINTS AND STATE OVER SUPERDOME RENOVATIONS, AND A LONG TERM LEASE FOR THE NFL TEAM, BECAUSE IT’S A GREAT PLACE TO HAVE A SPORTING EVENT. SO IF YOU’RE A TEAM, YOU WANT TO BE HERE, OKAY, THEY’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. IT’S GOING TO BE GREAT. NO, WE’VE GOT A GREAT RELATIONSHIP VISITED WITH GAIL TODAY. UM, UM, AND HER TEAM. NO, THEY’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. IT’S GREAT. HOW WILL THAT LOOK WITH THE SECURITY PRESENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING THIS, WHO GO, HEY, I HEARD THERE’S SOME CRIME ISSUES. IS IT SAFE TO COME TO THE SUPER BOWL? LOOK, I THINK I THINK AGAIN, I THINK THAT WHAT THEY SHOULD DO IS WATCH THE THINGS THAT WE’RE DOING IN CONJUNCTION WITH NOPD. UH, THE WAY THAT WE’VE BEEN WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS, WE’RE WE’RE BRINGING IN, UH, WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES, ATC WE’RE DRAWING FROM OTHER STATE RESOURCES. WE’RE TALKING TO SHERIFFS FROM AROUND THE AREA AND AROUND THE STATE, UNDERSTANDING THE NEED THAT WE’RE GOING TO HAVE FOR THE SUPER BOWL. WE’RE WORKING WITH OUR FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS. BELIEVE YOU ME, THE FOOTPRINT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THIS CITY IS GOING TO BE GREAT, GREAT. COME SUPER BOWL TIME. AND THIS ENTIRE HOT SEAT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO WATCH STARTING TOMORROW MORNING ON WDSU.COM.