re: People talk crap on New Orleans

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How stupid are you is the better question. The tourism revenue that Las Vegas generates annually dwarfs (and that's putting it lightly) the tourism revenue that NOLA brings in.

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My beef comparing New Orleans and Vegas is 2 different animals.

One city is completely focused on gambling and a larger convention center, Las Vegas. New Orleans on the other hand has a broader culture and more of an international destination for travelers.


Vegas is geared more for the large conventions. Vegas’s Convention Center is broken up into 3 main halls with over 3 million in exhibit space. The New Orleans Convention center has only 1.3 million in exhibit space. It is still in the top 5 of convention space in the U.S. I find going around the New Orleans Convention center is easier since it is consecutive halls, instead of Vegas’s L pattern and it is broken up into multiple interconnecting buildings that you have to walk over to get to the other exhibit space.


Vegas has a monorail while the New Orleans has streetcars if they are working. Biggest downfall of both systems they fail to connect to the major transportation points of the city. Vegas’s monorail ends at the MGM Grand just a mile or 2 from the airport. The New Orleans Airport is miles away. Not sure if there would be enough of a demand for a light passenger rail between the Airport and Downtown, or if bus service or shuttle buses are enough.

Both light rail systems are a good distance away from the stadiums. One positive for New Orleans is that the Loyola line comes within an “block” of the Superdome. Alliegent Stadium is in the other side of I-15, good luck walking there. At least the proposed MLB stadium will be near the Grand on the same side as the strip.