Tag: Superdome

Caesars Superdome renovations on track to be completed before Super Bowl LIX

New Orleans officials announced that Caesars Superdome renovations are on schedule to be completed before Super Bowl LIX:

Ongoing renovations to the Caesars Superdome are progressing well and on track for completion before Super Bowl LIX, city officials shared this week. The home of the New Orleans Saints will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year after hosting the NFL’s championship game, and construction crews have been hard at work executing more than $500 million in upgrades to improve the visitor experience and the arena’s longevity.

Work on this extensive remodeling began back in 2019 and is expected to be completed in June. That will pave the way for the Saints to host their preseason and regular season home games at home leading up to Super Bowl LIX.

Enhanced food service options, a new entry system of escalators and widened concourses, field-level seating and standing room-only platforms, as well as modern interior lighting and more amenities are all aimed to ensuring the Caesars Superdome remains a first-class venue for decades ahead. Initially priced at $450 million, costs for these renovations have climbed to $535 million as the project moves into its final phase.

So what could be next? The next leg of Taylor Swift’s global “The Eras Tour” will make a stop in New Orleans during the middle of the Saints’ 2024 season, but it’s just one of many high-profile events planned for the Caesars Superdome.

Super Bowl host committee president and Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation CEO Jay Cicero shared a list of big-ticket targets: “We’re talking to the NCAA; we’re talking a WrestleMania, and we’re talking to other groups about bringing their big events back to New Orleans. This renovation is certainly going to be a feather in our cap.”

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Jahri Evans passed over for Hall of Fame induction in the Class of 2024

Jahri Evans was passed over for Hall of Fame induction in the Class of 2024. Having to wait longer is disappointing, but the payoff could make it easier to accept:

We’ll start with the bad news. The Pro Football Hall of Fame will not induct Jahri Evans in its Class of 2024 — the New Orleans Saints legend was passed over in favor of other deserving players, including several who had to wait longer than they should have for enshrinement. Evans will have to wait at least one more year to earn his bronze bust and gold jacket in Canton.

Now the good news. It’s disappointing that Evans has to wait a while longer for such powerful recognition, but the payoff might be worth it. If he’s inducted in the Class of 2025 (which seems likely; he was a semifinalist in his first year of eligibility before progressing to the finalist stage in his second turn) then Evans will earn the nod in the same year, and a few days before, Super Bowl LIX is played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. That would be a fine occasion.

And if not? If Evans’ case lingers in discussion another year, drawing out into 2026, he could go into the Hall of Fame with his legendary quarterback. Drew Brees will be eligible to enter the Hall of Fame for the first time in 2026 which would be Evans’ fourth year of eligibility. He’s a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer, and getting him and his best blocker in together would be awful special.

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Arch Manning doesn’t look back on his grandfather’s Saints career too fondly

Arch Manning doesn’t look back on his grandfather’s Saints career fondly, though he says “it’s cool” to be back in the Superdome:

It’s the weekend of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans where the Texas Longhorns and Washington Huskies will meet inside the Caesars Superdome for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA National Championship Game.

Though he won’t play, barring injury, Texas quarterback Arch Manning is back home in the city and ready to suit up in the same stadium where his grandfather Archie Manning played from 1971 to 1982. The younger Manning acknowledged the history made at the venue, but he doesn’t look back on his predecessor’s Saints career too fondly.

“My granddad, he’s my biggest role model. It’s cool being back where he played, where he ran around and got killed,” Manning told The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate’s Rod Walker.

Sacks were not officially tracked until 1982, but the good people at Pro Football Reference have done the work to find unofficial sack numbers all the way back to 1960. And their research found that the elder Manning set and broke the NFL record for sacks in a single season three times. He was sacked 40 times for a loss of 332 yards in 1971, 53 times for 347 lost yards in 1972, and a personal-high 49 times for 390 yards in 1975, before he lost the entire 1976 season to a shoulder injury.

Manning will continue as the backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas next season, unless Ewers makes a surprise decision to declare for the 2023 NFL draft following the playoffs. A local favorite who starred at Isidore Newman High School, Manning is patiently waiting for his opportunity at the college level. The son of Cooper Manning, he’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncles Peyton and Eli to forge his own successful pro football career.

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Saints agree to 5-year extension with Superdome through 2030

The New Orleans Saints agreed to 5-year extension with the Caesars Superdome; their lease now runs through 2030:

The New Orleans Saints are staying in the Caesars Superdome for at least five more years, as they recently reached an agreement with the state of Louisiana to extend their lease, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.

The current lease now lasts until 2030, when they will need another deal. The Superdome has been the home of the Saints since it opened in 1975. Along with Saints football games, it hosts numerous other big events, making it important to the city of New Orleans.

The Super Bowl will be played for the seventh time at the Superdome in 2025. It has also been the home to three different LSU football championships. With other pro sports franchises relocating from well-established markets and experiencing instability, it’s good to see the Saints staying in New Orleans for the foreseeable future.

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Saints ticket prices plummet ahead of Week 14 Panthers game

New Orleans Saints ticket prices plummet ahead of Week 14’s Carolina Panthers game. Some resellers listed seats in the single digits:

Yikes. Ticket prices for Week 14’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers have plummeted, and it’s easy to understand why: the Saints are stuck in a three-game losing streak while hosting a one-win Panthers team. That’s after visiting Detroit Lions fans took over the lower bowl a week ago.

And that same Panthers team just scored twice as many points on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week (losing 21-18) as Derek Carr’s offense managed against that same Buccaneers defense earlier this season in a 26-9 defeat.

What’s more, the Saints have won just 8 games inside the Caesars Superdome since Drew Brees retired at the end of the 2020 season. They’re stuck with an underperforming quarterback, an unpopular head coach, and organizational leadership that’s rapidly burned through the good will they spent decades cultivating. They’re in a bad way, and even diehard fans will hesitate to spend hundreds of dollars on an unsatisfactory product.

So it’s little surprise that tickets are listed in the single digits on some resell platforms. At one point seats in the lower bowl behind the New Orleans benches were listed at $60 each. While it’s embarrassing to see so little fan interest, maybe this is the wakeup call Mickey Loomis and decision-makers at the top need to kickstart significant changes:

Once famous, the Saints’ ‘Domefield advantage’ is a thing of the past

Once famous, the Saints’ ‘Domefield advantage’ is a thing of the past. New Orleans doesn’t have a team worth showing up for:

There was a lot of Detroit Lions blue in the stands for Sunday’s game at the Caesars Superdome, which saw cheers for the New Orleans Saints drowned out by visiting fans.

It’s a real shame. The Saints cultivated a strong “Domefield advantage” for years when Sean Payton and Drew Brees were running the show, making the historic venue one of the NFL’s toughest environments to play in. Derek Carr and Dennis Allen don’t bring the same inspiring presences those two future Hall of Famers once did.

That strong and reliable home crowd is no longer here. And no one knows that better than veterans with local ties like Tyrann Mathieu, who noted the boos from Saints fans when Carr took the field after an early interception. That kind of negative feedback is unpleasant, but it’s what they’ve earned by playing poorly.

“Obviously it’s disappointing. I think we all need to play better. I think growing up in this city, it’s no secret that we’re all invested. Obviously they have a right to apply pressure, so to speak, but at the end of the day we’re one family. One community. It’s going to take all of us,” Mathieu said in his postgame press conference.

He later added, “Obviously we have to play better. We have to give them something to cheer for. We have to give them something to be proud of. And so I think that responsibility falls on us as players.”

Mathieu is right. The Saints haven’t defended their home turf well enough in recent years; they won nearly as many games in 2020 alone (6) as in the last three years combined (8). And that’s creating opportunities for visiting fans to take over games and make their presence felt. Check out the sights and sounds from the game for yourself:

Trevor Lawrence happy to exorcise his Superdome demons

Trevor Lawrence’s only two collegiate losses came in New Orleans. He said that gave him a little extra motivation to play Thursday night.

Trevor Lawrence put together one of the most flawless collegiate careers any quarterback has ever had. During a three-year career at Clemson that included a national championship, Lawrence won 38 of the 40 games he played.

The only two losses? A national championship loss to LSU at the Superdome in January 2020 and a Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State at the Superdome in January 2021.

Now in his third year as quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lawrence’s days at Clemson are fading into the rearview mirror. But when an injury threatened to keep him out of a Week 7 road game against the New Orleans Saints, bitter memories of the Superdome gave him just a little extra motivation to be on the field.

“It’s not the main reason, but part of the reason I wanted to play is I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth every time I’ve left New Orleans,” Lawrence said with a smile after a 31-24 win against the Saints. “So it feels good to get a win here.”

Lawrence finished the win Thursday with 204 passing yards and a touchdown, as well as a team-leading 59 rushing yards. Yet he recorded a career-best rushing total just four days after a knee injury suffered in a Sunday win against the Indianapolis Colts threatened to make him miss his first NFL game.

“On Monday, I would have told you he was not playing in this football game, but that’s not who Trevor is,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said after the game. “Again, I’m proud of his effort – the ability to escape the pocket and run. Fortunately, they were straight-ahead runs. He didn’t have to cut too much. A lot of gutsy performances out there, and his is probably the No. 1.”

Lawrence’s win at the Superdome on Thursday was also the first time the Jaguars have ever won a game in New Orleans.

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Bucs WR Chris Godwin shares unique perspective on Saints home games

Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin says playing the Saints at home presents a challenging environment inside the Caesars Superdome:

We hear a lot from New Orleans Saints fans, players, and coaches about the team’s strong homefield advantage — but it’s awful cathartic to hear it from the opposing sideline. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is set to make his latest trip to the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, and he shared a unique perspective on the matchup during his Wednesday media availability session after practice.

“It’s always a fun time when we get to play the Saints. When you go into that stadium, you know what you’re getting into,” Godwin began. “Those fans, they have that stadium rocking. There’s no windows in there. It’s like they go in and they lock the doors behind you, and it’s just you and your guys going to battle. Let’s figure it out.”

Godwin has played six games in New Orleans during his seven-year career, winning just twice (he was also inactive for their Week 2 victory last season due to an injury), including the playoffs. He knows exactly how loud that stadium can be and how many challenges the crowd noise creates for communication on offense.

And there’s a note of appreciation in his voice when talking about it. Godwin played for Penn State in college, where more than 100,000 fans crowd Beaver Stadium each week. That’s not an environment he’s been able to enjoy with the Buccaneers, whose fair-weather fanbase didn’t show up for games until Tom Brady came to town. Tampa Bay ranked 30th in home attendance during each of Godwin’s first two years in the NFL. Maybe he should consider switching sides once he’s free from his contract with the Bucs?

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Report: Saints fear Payton Turner will require surgery after turf toe injury

Report: Saints fear Payton Turner will require surgery after turf toe injury

This is tough. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints believe third-year defensive end Payton Turner suffered a turf toe injury on Sunday “that should require surgery,” potentially sidelining one of the more impressive players from this year’s training camp.

Turner’s right foot caught in the Caesars Superdome turf while pressuring Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill into throwing an incomplete pass, though he was able to walk himself off the field and into the locker room for further evaluation. But this is the latest serious injury in what’s become a frustrating trend for the Saints.

Last year Trevor Penning, Deonte Harty, and Michael Thomas were just some of the players who suffered turf toe injuries on their home turf. Studies have found that artificial turf like the kind used at the Superdome (and, bizarrely, at some outdoor NFL venues) correlates with greater injury risk compared to natural grass. For all the work the Saints have done to proactively approach injury risk, continuing to play home games on a dangerous surface feels like a massive blind spot.

But let’s keep focus on Turner. Last year Penning went down in late August and needed turf toe surgery to repair damaged ligaments in his foot, and Rapoport’s reporting suggests a similar scenario for Turner. Penning wasn’t able to return until Week 12 which may be the timetable Turner could be headed for. Stay tuned for updates.

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Drew Brees, Steve Gleason and their families catch up before Saints’ season-opener

Drew Brees, Steve Gleason and their families catch up before Saints’ season-opener

The New Orleans Saints had some big names in the building for their Week 1 kickoff game with the Tennessee Titans. Saints legend Steve Gleason was recognized as an honorary captain for the game’s opening coin toss, and he was joined by his family — who met with future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and his family before the pregame festivities.

It didn’t take long for Gleason’s children to take Brees’ sons to the turf for a quick wrestling match, with both dads catching up and keeping an eye on them from the sideline. Gleason was wearing Will Smith’s old No. 91 jersey in memory of their late teammate, who was slain in a 2016 road rage shooting. It was an emotional scene at the Caesars Superdome. They may all be iconic Saints players, but these people and their families have been through a lot together.

See some of the sights and sounds for yourself: