re: Saints Build New Stadium

Why do most people like the dome so much. I would love a new stadium

New stadium

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Why do most people like the Dome so much. I would like a new stadium

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1. The Dome is a great place to watch games
a. bullshite about bad site lines
2. Money is a huge issue for a city needing so much and the money spent to rebuild it
3. Dome is necessary vs. outdoor for Final 4's, and the NFL does not like rainy SuperBowls
4. Stadium must be Hurricane Proof - Katrina taught a lesson on rook skin.

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Dallas has just raised the bar on everybody

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I don't think any team owner will be able to do what Jerry Jones has done in Dallas. 1.3 billion for a new stadium?

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Why do most people like the dome so much.

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Air condition.

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bringonusc

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are ya stupid?

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Saints Build New Stadium

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Only if some multi-billionaire without the name Tom Benson bought the Saints and paid for a new stadium. Other than that, it ain't gonna happen.

Forget any state funds going to a project like that. Even though the Superdome is a 1975 model, it doesn't matter. Its a part of our state and it isn't going anywhere.

It would be nice if they fixed the blind spots of the endzone. I hate that. I'll just stay out of the nose bleed section.

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what he say, peeps?

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Do you think they put in around Mandieville?(SP)

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I eat pieces of shite like him for breakfast

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2)Almost every team has new stadium


false

more-
I count 7 older than the Superdome and 4 new ones in the past 5 years.
stadiumsofthenfl.com

In all, the Dome will eventually receive about $210 million in repairs and upgrades since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the building on Aug. 29, 2005.

"Every building in America has a point in its life cycle where it needs to be updated," Thornton said. "We have taken a significant step in modernizing the building to make it competitive with other facilities in the country. In a strange way, Katrina enabled us to do that because it allowed us to shut down the building for almost a year when we otherwise would not have been able to do so."

The centerpiece of the most recent project is the renovation of the club lounges, which are used to entertain team VIPs and premium-seat holders. Gone are the dark, cramped, outdated rooms that looked more like a grade-school auditorium than the exclusive rooms they've been billed as through the years. In their place are glitzy, modernized rooms with raised ceilings, leather sofas, flat-screen TVs and sleek glass, brushed aluminum and wood-grain furnishings.

The rooms are replete with modern amenities, including high-end concessions and bar and, for the first time, on-site cooking capability.

The coup de gras: four 18-foot-by-24-foot windows will be added to each room, allowing natural light into the building for the first time at the 200 level. That work is part of a third renovation and likely won't be started until next offseason, Thornton said.

"Our goal was to make these rooms more inviting and more modern," Thornton said. "We wanted to create a high-end modern feel like you'd see in a high-end restaurant or five-star hotel in a stadium environment."

In addition to the work in the club rooms, the renovation of the luxury suites is being completed. New carpet, black granite countertops, extra flat-screen TVs, modern lighting and wall coverings are being installed in each of the building's 137 suites.

A new $600,000 point-of-sale system is also being installed. The new setup will allow fans to purchase concessions with credit cards for the first time throughout the stadium.

About 750 black leather seats have been added to each corner of the club level seating.

One other unexpected treat for fans: the club lounges and concourses on the club and suite levels will be decorated with New Orleans and Saints artwork and graphics.

Thornton, who works for SMG, the Superdome’s management firm, is in the midst of negotiations with the Saints to extend their stadium lease, discussions tied to more upgrades at the 32-year-old facility. No new stadium is in the works.

“You’ve got Dallas and New York, but when you think about how those were financed, they were very lucky,” Thornton said. “Those projects were in the pipeline two to 2 1/2 years ago when the bond markets and mutual markets were still good. Some of these aging facilities will get some modest upgrades, but I don’t think you’re going to see any massive projects being launched in the near future.”

“The considerations of the future of the Saints include the future of the Superdome, potential improvements of the Superdome, and considerations of what's going on with business in New Orleans,” said Superdome and Arena spokesman Bill Curl. “The Saints are being supported quite well at this time. Will that support continue, what's the commitment, both ways.”

That commitment is the financial incentive the state pays the Saints to call New Orleans home. The Saints actually have a lease through 2018.

A deal struck back in 2001 means the Saints get paid by the state a total of $186 million. Those payments end in 2010, when the state can decide whether to continue those financial incentives. If it does not, the Saints have the option to pay $15 million, break the lease and leave -- a scenario, though, that seems unlikely.

“It goes on, it’s on everyone's front plate,” Curl said. “Everyone wants to get it done. Everyone's very positive about it. They want to do a long term deal. Both sides.”

Most recently, what could be accelerating the talks of a long-term lease agreement is the possibility of a Super Bowl bid for the city in 2013 -- the economic impact estimated at $400 million. But that can't happen unless the Saints and the state reach that long term deal.

Local legislators say the economic benefits a Super Bowl would bring makes any deal potential deal more palatable for the state.

“Without the Saints New Orleans I think falls back a level,” said state Rep. Jim Tucker, R-Algiers. “And post storm, Katrina we can't afford to do that. We need to be aggressive in bringing metro back, and Saints are vital part in that continued rebuilding.

Ron Forman, chairman of the Superdome commission, and Superdome manager Doug Thornton originally agreed to an interview with us -- but backed out today, leaving word that negotiations were going so well. They said they didn't want to cause any problems with media attention.

A Super Bowl bid would be made in May 2009. Curl says it's unclear if that means a signed deal must be made between now and then, or simply a verbal agreement -- but legislators say, the sooner, the better.