NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints and Pelicans organization is calling for action from the city's police department after several cars were broken into outside the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday night.
A spokesperson for the Saints and Pelicans organization said that they are "very concerned" and that the "constant" car break-ins outside the Smoothie King Center and Caesars Superdome have caught the attention of the NFL and NBA at a time when the Pelicans are championship contenders and New Orleans is preparing to host a Super Bowl in 2025.
"We need action!" the spokesperson told WWL-TV.
Several cars were broken into outside the Smoothie King Center during the Pelicans' win over the Houston Rockets Wednesday night. The crimes happened in a parking lot on Julia and Rampart as well as various other lots around the area, according to victims who spoke with WWL-TV.
The Pelicans organization reached out to the NOPD Interim Superintendent, Michelle Woodfork’s office, Thursday morning to express their concern.
In a press conference Thursday, Woodfork says the Saints and Pelicans have nothing to worry about.
“With those strategies that we have planned to put in place to curtail those type of crimes, whether it’s violent or property I believe I know we’re going to get this done," she said. "There’s no need for them to worry. New Orleans police department is noted for how we manage crowds, big events and this is going to be no different. They’re going to be safe here."
After multiple car break ins, on multiple days, fans are now anticipating leaving a sporting event to a smashed in window.
“All I could think in my head was oh man was tonight the night because lately, I have season tickets so I’ve been going a lot and every night I go It’s like is tonight going to be the night and sure enough it was last night,” Jacob Delaune, a Pelicans fan, said.
Delaune’s car was broken into Wednesday night. He said the burglars, thankfully, didn’t take anything important, but it is an inconvenience.
“I had to get with people this morning to try and get my window fixed and everything which will happen tomorrow," Delaune said. "I had to find a ride to work today which was a tricky thing I had to call people last night after the game about 10, 11 o clock to try to find a ride to work today so it’s a lot of inconvenience with the window being blown out I don’t’ want to leave my truck anywhere or nothing but that’s the biggest thing, the inconvenience and then having to pay everything."
The break-ins are more than just an inconvenience, though. Surrounding local businesses say the constant car burglaries are deterring customers from coming in, during what otherwise would be busy nights.
“It’s just people not wanting to be around here because of that because of the fear they have that their car might get taken their car might get broken into, something might happen to them,” one nearby restaurant worker said. “We don’t see it as jam packed as we used to and it doesn’t stay as busy as it used to. It’s 30 minutes, 45 minutes to come in, after that everyone is gone.”
The break-ins are deterring some basketball fans from attending games. Delaune, though, says he’s sticking beside his team.
“I know it was a bad night for me, but like I said, I’m still going to be there," he said. "I was there last night and every other home game. In the wise words of Beyonce you can’t break my soul even though you broke my window."
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