Lawmakers won't commit to $90M Superdome renovation deal

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Louisiana's legislative leaders balked Thursday at a $63 million debt forgiveness plan for the Superdome's oversight board that Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration framed as a key piece of striking a new deal with the New Orleans Saints.

The Bond Commission discussion of that proposal and other ideas for steering state money to Superdome renovations brought no resolution. It remains unclear whether state lawmakers will pay for Edwards' commitment that Louisiana will cover $90 million of the $450 million in stadium improvements.

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"It's decision time," said the Republican treasurer, who chairs the Bond Commission. The Superdome managers "need to be able to plan. We need to give them an answer."

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So far, the state has committed about $3 million to the Superdome upgrades, with another $25 million authorized — but not guaranteed — through the state's construction budget.

A contract for the next phases of the construction work "cannot be signed without some certainty on a revenue stream," said Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, the governor's chief budget adviser.

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The Superdome improvement plan calls for the state covering $90 million of the renovations, the Saints putting up $150 million and the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District paying $210 million.

The $450 million in upgrades to the nearly 50-year-old iconic stadium in downtown New Orleans — with expanded club and suite levels, new concession stands, viewing decks and other improvements — was part of a plan aimed at keeping the Saints in New Orleans through 2055.

"Their lease is dependent on this," Dardenne said.

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