NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Workers were busy putting the finishing touches on the Caesars Superdome turf. And, the Allstate Louisiana Kickoff was only a few hundred tickets from selling out.
Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said LSU and Florida State will get a sizeable payout, and the Sugar Bowl will profit, too.
Atlanta is the only other city with a kickoff game this season. And, it sounds like LSU head coach Brian Kelly isn’t averse to coming back to New Orleans again.
Kelly said LSU needs to consider games that are important to its recruiting. And, New Orleans is certainly a part of that footprint. The Sugar Bowl is certainly interested.
“We are really talking to LSU,” Hundley told WGNO Sports. “On a rotational basis to get them in here, and take the risk out of the equation for us. And, create a huge buzz in the city, something we want to be a part of. And, hopefully they will want to be as well.”
Hundley said talks to expand the College football playoff to more than four teams is heating up, again.
He says the Sugar Bowl likes any arrangement that makes the game at the very least, a quarterfinal each season.
“The way the 12-team was laid out to us, we would be a quarterfinal or semifinals each year,” explained Hundley. “And, that’s important to us, because it brings new meaning and value to the game, and we would matter on an annual basis.”
The Allstate Louisiana Kickoff between LSU and Florida State will be broadcast live on WGNO and ABC on Sunday, Sept. 4.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.