Curt Sprang ABC26 News

September 3, 2010
NEW ORLEANS—
The New Orleans Police department has its gameplan ready to go for an especially busy stretch of days in the French Quarter. The department will put extra officers in patrol in the Quarter as well as CBD. Also, undercover officers will watch for narcotics violations, and some streets will be closed periodically.

Construction workers are already assembling the stage that will serve as the concert site for Taylor Swift and Dave Mathews. The two acts will perform on Thursday before the Saints home game against the Vikings. The night will also include a parade.

The NOPD expects a near Super Bowl-type crowd.

Also this weekend, the annual gay-lesbian celebration Southern Decadence will bring thousands of people to the Quarter. The department's top brass says the Decadence crowd is well behaved, but officers will position large construction lights on Bourbon Street to help discourage criminals from targeting the crowd.