If you thought the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation’s annual Premier Season Ticket Sweepstakes was too good to be true in the past, just wait until you see what’s included in this year’s sweepstakes.
The winner of this year’s season ticket buffet will also receive two tickets to Super Bowl LIX, which will be held on February 9th at the Caesars Superdome.
“We call it the Super Bowl of Super Bowl sweepstakes,” said Jay Cicero, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation.
The annual season ticket giveaway is one of the premier fundraisers for the Sports Foundation, the organization that brings major sporting events like the Super Bowl, the Final Four and Wrestlemania to New Orleans.
“The proceeds from this raffle help cover the operating costs of hosting large events like the Super Bowl,” Cicero said. “The administrative costs associated with these events are high and this raffle certainly helps offset some of those costs.”
The drawing for this year’s raffle will be held on Sunday, August 25th at noon. Tickets cost $100 and can be purchased on the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation website (www.gnosports.com/win).
Like last year, one lucky winner will receive two season tickets to each of the following teams’ home games: Saints, Pelicans, LSU football, LSU men’s basketball, LSU women’s basketball, LSU baseball, LSU gymnastics, Tulane football, Tulane baseball, Tulane basketball, Tulane women’s basketball, UNO basketball, UNO baseball, UNO women’s basketball, NOLA Gold Rugby and four VIP passes to the Zurich Classic. The winner will also receive two tickets to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
However, this year the prize also includes two tickets for the Super Bowl, which is why last year’s winner Earl Williams is once again taking part in the raffle.
“It’s my dream to go to the Super Bowl,” Williams said. “To do that would be incredible.”
Williams, who lives in Covington, is still excited about the opportunity to attend so many sporting events over the past year. He remembers checking the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation website last year and finding out he had won.
“I saw my name and thought, ‘Holy shit, I won,'” Williams recalls. “I had to sit down.”
That’s pretty much all he’s had to sit on for the past 12 months, with much of his time spent on trips to the Superdome and Smoothie King Center, as well as Baton Rouge, uptown New Orleans and Avondale (home of Zurich Class).
“The opportunity to see so much is incredible,” Williams said.
The foundation normally only sells 1,500 tickets, but since this year’s raffle also includes Super Bowl tickets, the organization increased the number to 2,500.
“Super Bowl tickets have already made a huge difference this year,” Cicero said. “We’ve already sold more tickets this year than we sold all year last year. We hope to sell all 2,500.”
Billy O’Regan, who won the raffle two years ago, called it “by far the best thing I’ve ever won.”
Williams, last year’s winner, would agree. The two Super Bowl tickets make it even more tempting this time around.
“If you’re a sports fan, I would encourage you to try to win it,” Williams said. “I was shocked when I won it because I’m one of those people who never wins anything. I’m definitely going to try to win it again.”
