The Sugar Bowl will reportedly kick off at 4pm ET on Thursday following the deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans.
The College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between No 2 Georgia and No 7 Notre Dame was initially slated for 8:45pm ET on New Year’s Day.
But the game was pushed back amid investigations into the attack, which saw a man drive a truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans’ French Quarter, killing 15.
According to ESPN, the game will now kick off at 4pm on Thursday. Officials postponed the Sugar Bowl for 24 hours as the authorities conducted security checks and the city remained on high alert.
The Caesars Superdome was shut down for security purposes, with the attack taking place about ten blocks away from the stadium at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street.
In a press conference, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has said that the Superdome and the surrounding area ‘is safe’.
The Sugar Bowl was postponed for 24 hours following the terrorist attack in New Orleans
‘The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning,’ Sugar Bowl Committee CEO Jeff Hundley said in a statement earlier on Wednesday.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available.’
A white Ford truck accelerated through the busy intersection, a popular tourist destination within the city, and ‘intentionally’ plowed into people at around 3:15am local time.
The man who drove the truck has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, a US citizen born and raised in Texas.
The vehicle used in the massacre was owned by a different 42-year-old man from Houston. It had reportedly been rented out on the car-sharing app, Turo.
The FBI has said they do not believe the terrorist acted alone, and surveillance footage captured three men and a woman placing one of multiple improvised explosive devices in the area, according to the Associated Press.
The gunman was killed by police after he slammed a truck into pedestrians celebrating the New Year, exited the vehicle, and started firing. The vehicle was reportedly carrying an ISIS flag and a chest with explosives inside it.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk