1984 Louisiana World Exposition's last-minute permit approval added

New Orleans CityBusiness, Jan 5, 2004 by Holly Miller

Jim Brandt, vice president of planning for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, wasn't absolutely sure the fair would go on until opening day.

New Orleans city officials had listed 19 provisions the fair had to meet before the city would issue a use and occupancy permit. The fair met all provisions - most related to improvements in the French Quarter and other downtown areas - but the city waited until an hour before the gates opened to hand Brandt the permit.

It's unusual for a city to require so many improvements. The city drove a hard bargain, Brandt said. They were able to hold our feet to the fire until the very end. They could have said, 'Sorry, you haven't completed the list, so no permit will be issued.'

The federal government provided more hurdles for the fair. Under President Jimmy Carter, the federal government gave the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tenn., $300 million in 1982 but President Ronald Reagan's administration contributed only $10 million to the New Orleans fair.

We were never able to pin down why the federal government had such a lack of enthusiasm, Brandt said. They really would've been much happier had it been canceled.

Lack of government support and low attendance meant the fair ended up losing about $100 million, mostly from corporate guarantees. The state of Louisiana lost $30 million and a few hundred contractors and debtors lost a total of $20 million.

But the fair had high points as well, Brandt said.

There was a cadre of young devoted and very talented people that the fair brought together and that I'll never forget, he said. All of us signed on with the notion that if we made the most of the experience it would lead to better and different opportunities down the road, which proved to be the case.

After the fair, Brandt traveled to Japan for consulting work and then spent 12 years as president and chief executive officer of the Bureau of Governmental Research in New Orleans. He's served as president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana in Baton Rouge the past five years.