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Businesses ready for a bumper crop of visitors to N.O.

Section: Business

Jaquetta White

Even though the city will be consumed by football fans and convention attendees over the next two weeks, there seems to be little worry in the hospitality industry about meeting the needs of the large crowds.

Three major college football games and a convention are taking place in New Orleans between Dec. 21 and Jan. 7.

Some local restaurants "have literally sold out most of their special-event space," over the weekend of Jan. 4-6, the days leading up to the BCS Championship game between Louisiana State University and Ohio State University, said Steve Perry, president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. The championship game is expected to bring 70,000 to 90,000 people. The preceding Sugar Bowl is expected to have more than 50,000 fans in New Orleans. Meanwhile, 8,000 people will be in town for the annual meeting of the American Economic Association. The New Orleans Bowl, played on Friday, also brought thousands of guests.

But Perry dismissed the idea of the crowds overwhelming local restaurants and hotels.

"I think it's actually going to be great for everyone," Perry said. "The hotels and the restaurants, all the attractions have staffed up fully and have put extra people on. I think the service levels are going to be tremendous."

Traffic from the bowl games will be especially good for French Quarter retail shops, which have struggled despite last fall's uptick in convention business because leisure travelers have been scarce. Convention groups aren't as likely as leisure travelers to spend time shopping in the French Quarter. The games will create much-needed foot traffic past the doors of those shops, Shilstone said.

"In this case, the games take place in the evening, so during the daytime, they will be exploring our city and our shops and our restaurants and our music clubs," Shilstone said.

Ralph Brennan, whose company The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group owns three local restaurants, said he plans to take a business-as-usual approach to the busy stretch. His restaurants are visited by thousands of guests during Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras each year, Brennan said.

However, Brennan said he was pleasantly surprised when one of his restaurants, Red Fish Grill, was reserved by one of the sports teams for an entire day.

"That's more like a Super Bowl thing. We've had that done before," Brennan said. "I just don't recall ever having it for a Sugar Bowl."

Rick Gratia, who owns Muriel's Jackson Square, said the restaurant also has been booked for a large private event, though that's not unusual this time of year given its location in the French Quarter. Allstate, which is sponsoring both the Sugar Bowl and the BCS championship game, has rented the facility for parties leading up to the games.

Gratia said he is most looking forward to the opportunity the city will have to showcase itself.

"We're super-excited about having the opportunity to show off New Orleans to the world," Gratia said.

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