How Much Did It Cost to Repair the Superdome Updated

How Much Did It Cost to Repair the Superdome

Dome Sugariness Dome

State officials, Saints exploring renovation of 43-twelvemonth-old stadium and campus

Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he's not writing, he'south avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football. Price also authors the Friday Sports Column at BizNewOrleans.com.

The tendency in mod stadium structure is to build new, go big, and load upward on amenities and unique experiences. All of that, of course, comes with a toll. Three of the most recent stadiums added to the NFL roster, each synthetic within the final decade, all topped $1 billion – AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, cost $one.15 billion; the San Francisco 49ers home, Levi'southward Stadium, price $1.3 billion; and Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium came in at a cool $one.5 billion.

By comparing, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, domicile of the New Orleans Saints, price $134 million when it was built in the early 1970s. Part of the genius of the Superdome, conceptualized as a multi-sport arena with moveable field level stands that could accommodate football, baseball and basketball, is that it was built as a stadium inside a steel and aluminum beat. That design has benefitted the Dome over the decades since information technology opened in 1975; instead of growing outdated, it has allowed for updates and reconfigurations to modernize the edifice.

The Superdome was famously repaired afterwards harm caused by Hurricane Katrina and remodeled in 3 stages betwixt 2006 and 2010 at a cost of $320 million.

The updates have not been plenty to keep up with the NFL'south Joneses, yet. Although New Orleans had played host to the Super Bowl 10 times, most recently in 2013, The Large Easy lost out twice to other cities with newly constructed stadiums in its bid to host the league title games in 2018 and 2019. This year's game was played in Minneapolis at U.South. Banking concern Stadium, which opened in 2016. Next year'due south game volition be in Atlanta'due south new venue, which opened last year.

That prompted state and Saints officials to explore another round of renovations in guild to modernize the Superdome, continue New Orleans in the rotation as a host for Super Bowls, Final Fours and College Football Playoff championship games, and add lagniappe to extend the state's and franchise's Superdome charter negotiation, which expires in 2025. Word of the renovations helped the city land Super Basin LVIII in 2024.

In March, the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED), the state agency that oversees the Superdome, canonical a $422,000 architectural survey, awarded to San Francisco-based Gensler Sports in May, to make up one's mind what civilities could be included in a potential remodel. In tardily July, the LSED approved $ane.83 million in spending for New Orleans-based Trahan Architects to produce a construction timeline; renderings of what the Superdome could become, which volition exist made public in late 2018 or early 2019; and a cost estimate. The cost is projected to be between $150 million and $450 1000000, depending on the issue of the survey, according to Savannah Chamblee, media coordinator for SMG New Orleans, which manages the Superdome and Smoothie King Eye.

Some of the ideas include removal of the Gate A ramps along Poydras Street, the parking decks between the stadium and Champions Square to let a dark-green space outside of the stadium, several interior ramps that would exist replaced with new concourses in the club-level space betwixt the 30-m lines, and removal of some seating in the terrace to provide standing-room-only areas. The plan as well includes the addition of two street-level entrances at the edifice'southward corners near Poydras Street, field-level suites behind the end zones, and windows added in the terrace, which would provide views of downtown New Orleans.

Dennis Lauscha, president of the Saints and Pelicans, said the renovation to the Superdome'south campus could also include the section of Girod Street between the Dome and arena that would provide a improve outdoor pregame temper for basketball fans.

The project is expected to have place between the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 13, 2020 and the Final Four in early on April 2022 or Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024, with piece of work performed in the football offseason, except during the annual Essence Festival.

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Investing in Championships
In the adjacent half dozen years, three of the nation's biggest championship sporting events are expected to create an economical touch on of more than $852 million and create state tax revenue in backlog of $30 one thousand thousand. A proposed Superdome renovation estimated betwixt $150 meg and $500 1000000 could draw more than events and money to the city.