Petition calls for Bayou Classic to move out of NOLA

Here we go again.

Just when it seemed like the Bayou Classic was back with announced attendance figures of 62,000 Saturday for the annual rivalry between Grambling and Southern after a few years of declining interest and ticket sales, another issue from New Orleans residents popped up over the weekend.

Hosted by the website change.org, a person by the name of Derek Crow in New Orleans started a petition Sunday to New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, which was titled "Move Bayou Classic out of New Orleans."

On the surface, it didn't seem like much of anything, but as of Monday afternoon 1,652 supporters had signed the petition to exceed the initial number of 1,500. The petition has now been moved up to 2,500 supporters, and by Tuesday morning, 2,081 supporters had signed it.

"Every year the Bayou Classic comes to our city and destroys the city and turns the streets into a war zone," the petition states. "WE, the citizens of New Orleans, demand that you stop allowing this event to take place in our city. Let these schools host this event in their own city's and in their own stadium. Let their tax payers fund the overtime for police and security."

That message was originally posted Sunday before an influx of people started to sign the petition.

On Monday, an update was provided that read in part that "No one is saying these two schools cannot have their Bayou Classic tournament. This petition is saying Have it in the city where the schools are located."

The outburst is likely related to news of a murder on Bourbon Street that happened early Saturday morning, although New Orleans police said it was unrelated to the Bayou Classic events.

An article in the New Orleans Times Picayune stated as many as 200,000 visitors were expected in New Orleans for the 42nd edition of the Bayou Classic.

The latest issue with the Bayou Classic comes less than two years after Robert Bruno, a Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District board member, questioned if Grambling should even be associated with the Bayou Classic due to its recent struggles.

"If Grambling has fallen off that bad, maybe Southern could take the lead and it could be an earned-in game and bring in somebody else," Bruno said in June 2014, according to a WWL-TV report. "I just don't know if Grambling can carry the load."

Grambling beat Southern on Saturday before an announced crowd of 62,907. That number is the most in the post-Katrina era after 59,874 tickets were sold for the 2008 Bayou Classic.