Louisiana Superdome

Address:1500 Poydras Street
New Orleans, Louisiana

Set in New Orleans, The Louisiana Superdome will give you a Cajun style football experience. Set against the backdrop of the New Orleans skyline, The Louisiana Superdome stands as an imposing sight for anyone arriving at the "Big Easy." The Superdome is home to the NFL's New Orleans Saints, and to Tulane University's college football team, the Green Wave. Completed in 1975, The Louisiana Superdome is the largest indoor facility in the country for football, and the largest steel-constructed venue, weighing in at 20,000 tons. The Superdome opened on September 28, 1975, when The New Orleans Saints opened their 1975 NFL season with a 21-0 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first regular season game in the facility.

Once you step inside the seating area, all it takes is one look up at the roof to get an idea of the size of this enormous facility. This venue has no peer in America sizewise, and this view is its most breathtaking. There is seating for roughly 70,000 Saints fans onsite, and when they're motivated it sounds as if there were about twice that many present. When it comes to noise making, it's hard to beat the decibel level of an indoor stadium, and the Superdome is no exception. The noise levels are, for lack of a better term, thunderous. It is interesting to note the multicolored seating pattern, as the dome's seats are individually colored in red, purple, and other colors. Also worth mentioning is the terrific pregame introductions. The players come out of the tunnel to the foot stomping, hand clapping beat of terrific blues music, as well as a lively rendition of "When the Saints Come Marching In", an atmosphere with a distinct New Orleans flavor. The Superdome converted to an AstroPlay artificial grass surface during the 2003 football season, with the first game on this surface played on November 16, 2003. The AstroPlay was later replaced with a FieldTurf surface. After being damaged in flooding from Hurricane Katrina, a new FieldTurf surface was installed for the 2006 football season.

In 2005, the Superdome came to international attention when it housed thousands of evacuees seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina. The number of people taking shelter in the Superdome rose to around 15,000 to 20,000, as search and rescue teams brought more and more people to the Superdome from areas hit hard by the flooding. However, the damage to the roof was not catastrophic, as it suffered only 2 relatively small holes and the ripping off of most of the easily replaceable white rubber membrane on its outer layer. When the flooding began, on August 30, the Superdome began to slowly fill with water, though it remained confined to the field level. Later that day, Governor Blanco ordered New Orleans to be completely evacuated. On August 31, it was announced that the Superdome refugees would move to the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. By September 4, the last large group of refugees in the Superdome had been evacuated. After the events surrounding Katrina, the Superdome was closed indefinitely, and was not used during the 2005 football season. The New Orleans Saints played four of their scheduled home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, three at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and one at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, during the 2005 NFL season. After speculations of moving the franchise to San Antonio, the Saints announced that they would be returning to New Orleans, with the first home game taking place on September 25, 2006, against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. Before that first game, the team announced it had sold out its entire home schedule to season ticket holders for the first time in franchise history. The dome reopened amid a wave of pomp and circumstance, including a free outdoor concert by the Goo Goo Dolls, and a pregame performance by the rock bands U2 and Green Day performing a cover of The Skids' "The Saints Are Coming," and a coin toss conducted by former President George H. W. Bush. In front of ESPN's largest-ever audience, the Saints beat the Falcons 23-3. They went on to have a very successful season at the Superdome, reaching the NFC Championship Game.

The Louisiana Superdome has seen much more than its fair share of memorable events. The Superdome has hosted more Super Bowls than any other sports facility: 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, and 2002. The NCAA college basketball Final Four has been a regular guest here, being held four times: 1982 (which featured Michael Jordan's game winning shot for North Carolina), 1987, 1993 (memorable for Chris Webber's timeout from hell), and 2003. The Superdome has also been home to the famous NOKIA Sugar Bowl, from the College Football Bowl Series, since 1975.

In addition to sporting events, the Superdome hosts many other large events. These include music concerts by big name acts, as well as trade shows and conventions. In the late 1970s, and early 1980s, Mid South Wrestling ran quarterly events in the Superdome. The 1988 Republican National Convention was also held in the Superdome. The Superdome also hosts performances by the Winn-Dixie Pro Rodeo (Professional Cowboy Association) .

The Louisiana Superdome is located in the central business district, in the northwest corner of downtown New Orleans, and is immediately adjacent to the New Orleans Arena. When coming to the game, give yourself plenty of time, as traffic on the I-10 can be vicious. However, once you're on the local streets, there is ample parking to be found here, whether in the parking garages and lots at the Dome or private lots within a couple of blocks walk. Its central location makes the Superdome an easy walk from the downtown hotels. Fans can also hop a city bus from the French Quarter.