Landry Uses Saints' Paris Game to Court French Business Leaders for Louisiana

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is treating the New Orleans Saints' trip to Paris as a business opportunity as well as a sporting event, using the visit to promote the state to French companies and executives.

The Saints are scheduled to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 25 in the first regular-season NFL game ever played in the French capital. Landry is traveling to Paris with the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, which sees the game as a chance to put the state's business case in front of an international audience.

State economic development leaders compare the opportunity to last year's Super Bowl in New Orleans, which gave Louisiana a high-profile moment to showcase itself. They say the Paris game offers a similar platform for telling French business leaders what the state has to offer.

A full day of meetings and seminars is planned for Friday. Topics include Louisiana's power grid, opportunities in healthcare and the building of global partnerships.

Landry said he has already met with a number of chief executives during the trip and described a shift in how companies view the state. "People are really looking at Louisiana right now," he said. In the past, he said, the state had to work to track down business opportunities, but now "they are not at our doorstep..they're in our living rooms."

The agency has brought along the "Louisiana NOW" pavilion, which was used to attract business during last year's Super Bowl. The 14,000-square-foot immersive space is designed to bring together business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Matt Wolfe, vice president of communications for the economic development organization Greater New Orleans, Inc., said the setting works in the state's favor. "This is a perfect opportunity and allows Louisiana to look the best," he said, pointing to how New Orleans appeared to the world during the Super Bowl.

Landry has scheduled additional meetings with French business leaders over the next several days. He is also set to give closing remarks at Friday's daylong business session at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris.