michael hecht

Pelicans.com

New Orleans has always been beloved for food, music and festivals. Following Hurricane Katrina, we became renowned for something else – resilience. This combination of ingenuity, grit and grace reached its apex in 2010, when the New Orleans Saints won their first-ever Super Bowl. Rising from the waters of the flood, the teamwork, commitment and faith of the Saints showed the world what it means to be from New Orleans.

It is therefore encouraging, but not surprising, that New Orleans is responding to the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus with a similar balance of compassion and determination. In fact, over the past weeks New Orleans has managed to “flatten the curve” of the virus as well as anywhere in the nation, with average daily cases dropping over 90 percent. Additionally, the state of Louisiana is a leader when it comes to testing for COVID-19, ranking sixth in the country in terms of tests per capita, according to Johns Hopkins.

Going forward, local businesses are deeply committed to re-opening safely, with the protection of customers and employees coming first. Recently, GNO, Inc. released a public report, “Getting Back to Work in the New Normal,” that details global best practices for business re-opening, to be applied locally here in New Orleans. Businesses are investing in protective gear, enhanced hygiene, and a range of work-flow changes to ensure they can serve the public safely and efficiently. (For those lovers of al-fresco dining, one of the immediately upsides has seen a big shift toward outdoor seating.)

And businesses are looking to the future. The fact is, the global economic changes being driven by coronavirus offer a range of new economic opportunities New Orleans is uniquely positioned to secure. 

For starters, there will be an opportunity for more well-paying manufacturing jobs in the region, as companies repatriate their supply chain. The old strategy was to reduce costs by outsourcing, especially from China; that dependency has now been shown to be a potential expensive weakness. Louisiana, with its experience and logistical advantages, has great potential for reshoring of manufacturing.

Similarly, technology companies will be bringing programming jobs home from abroad. It’s been discovered during the coronavirus lock-down that domestic techies could work from home with virtually no interruption. In less developed countries, this has proven to be difficult. New Orleans – already one of the fastest growing tech communities in the country – should be a top destination for technology reshoring.

Retail has seen a decade of change condensed into two months, and is now dominated by logistics.

Going forward, stores will become more like fulfillment centers, with people browsing on-line, and then picking up curbside, or enjoying home delivery. With our river, ports, six class-1 railroads, and extensive highway system – along with low utility rates - Greater New Orleans is an excellent location for the logistics hubs that will power this trend.

There will be other opportunities borne of our logistical capabilities. For example, frozen foods and pre-made meals have both grown during the crisis, and this development is expected to continue into the future. Greater New Orleans has famous cuisine, vast access to agriculture, and some of the biggest cold-storage capacity in America, making it is a natural location for value-added food manufacturing.

And it goes without saying that the health-care industry is evolving as a result of the coronavirus, particularly in two areas: infectious disease and telemedicine. Our institutions already are at the forefront here, with local universities and hospital systems leading the way in treating COVID-19, and partnering with the private sector for better health outcomes.

Finally, tourism. The fact is, 2019 was a record year for visitation to New Orleans, with nearly 20 million people from around the world flying and driving to the city. And 2020 began with great promise, with double-digit momentum in both dining and entertainment.  Without question, hospitality has been hit hard by the coronavirus. But with even more certainty, hospitality will come back. Our food and festivals define who we are, and the global love for this cultural identity is undiminished. Our hospitality community is fully committed to welcoming the world back to a New Orleans that is as exciting and entertaining as ever, and safer than ever.

In New Orleans, sports is more than entertainment. The Saints and Pelicans are metaphors for the soul and spirit of the city. With the Saints tipped as a Super Bowl favorite, and the Pelicans welcoming the most dynamic player in a generation, our hometown sports teams embody the professionalism, pride and promise of New Orleans, as a whole. We take care of our own. We play as a team. And in the economy, as in sports, we will win.

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GNO Inc.'s Michael Hecht: Responding today, winning tomorrow

Jim Eichenhofer

In conjunction with the NBA’s announcement that its 2017 All-Star festivities are coming to the Crescent City, we caught up with Michael Hecht, the president and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. According to its website, the group’s mission is to create jobs and wealth in the local 10-parish region “by pursuing an aggressive agenda of business development – marketing the region – and product development.”

Hecht, who described the awarding of NBA All-Star as a significant economic victory for New Orleans, detailed the numerous benefits that come from hosting the prestigious, globally-watched event for a third time since 2008.

Pelicans.com: What are some of the components that make New Orleans an ideal All-Star host?

Hecht: There are three elements that make us so good, and in some ways, unparalleled as a host of an All-Star game. The first is that New Orleans is a globally-loved destination – we were just voted the No. 7 city in the world by the readers of Travel & Leisure magazine. The second is we have a long history and deep competency in hosting major events, whether it is Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest or All-Star games. Third, increasingly, whether it is for sporting events or living and working (day to day), people are choosing more compact, walkable urban environments. New Orleans really excels in that regard, in that we have downtown stadiums close to world heritage sites like the French Quarter, that allow a visitor to get around on foot, and not only experience the event, but the entire city in a compact and easily accessible way.

Pelicans.com: This is a very unique situation, given that bids for NBA All-Star are often granted two or more years in advance. What makes New Orleans a leading choice to host on such short notice, with All-Star coming in six months?

Hecht: New Orleans is unusual in that it not only has the physical infrastructure ready to go, but it has the human experience ready to go as well. So we’re not only able to physically host a major event at a moment’s notice, but we have the managerial competence to run it. That combination of people plus place makes us special.

Pelicans.com: What are some of the biggest benefits to a city of hosting a game?

Hecht: There are at least four clear benefits to the city. The first is the pure economic benefit, where we expect over $100 million in impact. The second is that it is a sampling opportunity, meaning that the tens of thousands of people who come here for the game will be able to experience not just the All-Star Game, but also the new New Orleans in a personal way – and that’s a great way to drive affinity for New Orleans. The third is branding – the millions of people around the world who watch the game will be able to see the new New Orleans, a place that is thriving, progressive, dynamic, diverse. That’s marketing that money simply could not buy; it’s invaluable. Lastly, from a narrower economic standpoint, events like All-Star games and Super Bowls are outstanding business development opportunities, because they let us bring in clients to games and get great networking opportunities. Invariably, business development comes from hosting these events. For one of our newest video-game companies, High Voltage Software, a main part of the sell to them (to come to New Orleans) was the NBA All-Star Game in 2014, because both the owner and his daughter are big basketball players.

Pelicans.com: From your perspective, what has been the general impact for the city of New Orleans to boast two professional sports teams, with the Saints here now for 50 years and the Pelicans entering their 15th season?

Hecht: New Orleans is one of only 30-plus cities in the U.S. that have two (major-league) sports teams. We are relatively small in terms of population to have two. So having them not only allows us to experience the benefit of hosting the NBA All-Star Game, but really gives us an overall presence that is relatively larger than our size. Having the teams allows us to punch above our weight as a community. They are an essential part of how we project to the rest of the world.

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24 Seconds With Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans, Inc.

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