Louisiana Superdome
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The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, The Dome or even the New Orleans Superdome is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Superdome is the current home of the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
The Superdome is the largest fixed domed structure in the world, but it lost its title as the largest domed structure when the Georgia Dome in Atlanta was completed in 1992. (Both the Superdome and Georgia Dome were surpassed in size by London's Millennium Dome in 1999.)
In 2005, the Superdome came to international attention when it housed thousands of evacuees seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina.
[edit] Capacity
The Superdome has a listed maximum football seating capacity of 72,003 (expanded) or 69,703 (not expanded), a maximum basketball seating capacity of 55,675, and a maximum baseball capacity of 63,525; however, published attendance figures from events such as the Sugar Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. A 1980s Rolling Stones concert attracted over 87,500 spectators.
[edit] Major Events
- New Orleans Saints -- New Orleans Saints home games.
- Green Wave Football -- Tulane University college football home games
- Super Bowl -- More Super Bowls have been played at the Louisiana Superdome than at any other sports facility: 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, and 2002.
- BCS National Championship Game -- The Louisiana Superdome rotates with three other locations as the host for the BCS National Championship Game. The Superdome hosted the BCS National Championship Game in 2000 and 2004, and is scheduled to do so in 2008.[1]
- Sugar Bowl -- The Superdome has been home to the Sugar Bowl since 1975.
- The Final Four -- the Superdome hosted the NCAA college basketball Final Fours in 1982, 1987, 1993, and 2003.
- The Bayou Classic -- a football game between two historically black universities, Grambling State and Southern University.
- In addition to sporting events, the Superdome hosts other large events, notably music concerts by national 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 held in the Superdome.
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation
[edit] Stadium History
The brainchild of local sports visionary David Dixon, (who decades later founded the USFL), the idea for the Superdome was born while Dixon was attempting to convince the NFL to award a franchise to New Orleans. After hosting several exhibition games at Tulane Stadium during typical New Orleans summer thunderstorms, Dixon was told by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that the NFL would never expand into New Orleans without a domed stadium. Dixon then won the support of the governor of Louisiana, John J. McKeithen. When they toured the Astrodome in Houston, Texas in 1966, McKeithen was quoted as saying, "I want one of these, only bigger," in reference to the Astrodome itself. Bonds were passed for construction of the Superdome on November 8, 1966, seven days after commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded New Orleans the 25th professional football franchise.
It was hoped the stadium would be ready in time for the 1972 NFL season, and the final cost of the facility would come in at $46 million. Instead, due to political delays which are all too familiar in Louisiana, construction did not start until August 11, 1971 and was not finished until August 1975, seven months after Super Bowl IX was scheduled to be played in the stadium. Since the stadium was not finished in time for the Super Bowl, the game had to be moved to Tulane Stadium and was played in cold and rainy conditions. Factoring in inflation, construction delays, and the increase in transportation costs caused by the 1973 Energy Crisis, the final price tag of the stadium skyrockted to $165 million.
The New Orleans Saints opened the 1975 NFL season at the Superdome, losing 21-0 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first regular season game in the facility. Tulane Stadium was condemned on the day the Superdome opened, although the original concrete sections stood on the Tulane University campus until November 1979.
The Superdome's look was the work of local architect, Nathaniel "Buster" Curtis of Curtis & Davis. The contractor was Huber, Hunt & Nichols.
The Superdome is located on 52 acres (210,437 m²) of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has an interior space of 125,000,000 ft³ (3,500,000 m³), a height of 253 feet (77.1 m), a dome diameter of 680 feet (207.3 m), and a total floor area of 269,000 square feet (24,991 m²).
The New Orleans Arena, a smaller indoor arena adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome, opened on October 19, 1999. It was designed by Arthur Q. Davis, whose former firm had designed the Superdome.
The Superdome converted to an AstroPlay artificial grass surface during the 2003 football season, with the first game on AstroPlay 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.
[edit] Hurricane Katrina
The Superdome was used as a "shelter of last resort" for those in New Orleans unable to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina when it struck in late August 2005. This was the third time the dome had been used as a shelter; it was previously used in 1998 during Hurricane Georges and in 2004 during Hurricane Ivan. During Georges, the Superdome had no problems related to the weather, but the evacuees stole furniture and damaged property that resulted in thousands of dollars in losses, and there were difficulties supplying the more than 14,000 people living temporarily in the dome with necessities. About a thousand special-needs patients were housed there when Ivan hit the area.
Approximately 9,000 residents and 550 National Guardsmen rode out the night in the Superdome as Katrina came ashore. Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, Adjutant General for the Louisiana National Guard, said that the number of people taking shelter in the Superdome rose to around 15,000 to 20,000 as search and rescue teams brought more people to the Superdome from areas hit hard by the flooding. During Katrina, officials set up security checkpoints, and confiscated alcohol, weapons, and illicit drugs from those seeking refuge in the building.
The Superdome was built to withstand most catastrophes; the roof was ostensibly estimated to be able to withstand winds with speeds of up to 200 mph; flood waters could still possibly reach the second level 20 feet from the ground, making the structure an unreliable shelter in severe rain and wind. When looking into the origins of this 200 mph wind security in the Superdome, CNN reported that no engineering study had ever been completed on the amount of wind the structure can withstand; the building's engineering study was underway as Hurricane Katrina approached and was put on hold. It was used as an emergency shelter although it was neither designed nor tested for the task. However, the damage to the roof was not catastrophic, with just 2 relatively small holes and the ripping off of most of the easily replaceable white rubber membrane on the outer layer.
On August 29, 2005, at about 9:00 AM EDT, reports from inside the Superdome were that part of the roof was "peeling off," daylight could be seen from inside the dome, and rain was pouring in. The Associated Press stated there were two holes, "each about 15 to 20 feet long and 4 to 5 feet wide", and that water was making its way in at elevator shafts and other small openings.
That same morning of August 29, during an interview on ABC news, Governor Kathleen Blanco called the Superdome shelter strategy an "experiment," when asked if it could hold the storm or the flood.[citation needed]
Despite the planned use of the Superdome as an evacuation center, government officials at the local, state and federal level came under criticism for poor planning and preparation. On August 28, the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MREs (meals ready to eat), enough to supply 15,000 people for three days. There was no water purification equipment on site, no chemical toilets, no anti-biotics and no anti-diarrheals stored for a crisis. There were no designated medical staff at work in the evacuation center. There was no established sick bay within the Superdome, and there were very few cots available that hadn't been brought in by evacuees. The mayor of New Orleans had, in fact, stated that as a "refuge of last resort," only limited food, water, and supplies would be provided. Residents who evacuated to the Superdome were warned to bring their own supplies.
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 completely evacuated. On August 31, it was announced that the Superdome refugees would move to the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. With no power and no water, sanitary conditions within the Superdome had rapidly deteriorated. As of August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients and a man who is believed to have committed suicide by jumping from the upper level seats. There were also unconfirmed reports of rape, vandalism, violent assaults, crack dealing/drug abuse, and gang activity inside the Superdome. On September 11, New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass reported there were "no confirmed reports of any type of sexual assault."
National Guardsmen accompanied by buses (475 total) and supply trucks arrived at the Superdome on September 1. The buses were sent to pick up the evacuees from the Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, where more than 20,000 people had been crowded in similarly poor living conditions. 13,000 evacuees were taken to the Reliant Astrodome in Houston. 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. The team finished with a 3-13 record.
Tulane postponed its scheduled game against The University of Southern Mississippi to November 26. Their first game, against Mississippi State University, was played September 17 at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Overall, the team used six different stadiums for their six home games, including Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Cajun Field in Lafayette, Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Malone Stadium in Monroe, and Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The team finished with a 2-9 record.
The 2005 Bayou Classic was moved from the Superdome to Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Grambling State University beat Southern University, 50-35, as GSU quarterback Bruce Eugene threw for 418 yards and six touchdowns.
The 2005 New Orleans Bowl between The University of Southern Mississippi and Arkansas State University was moved from the Superdome to Cajun Field in Lafayette. Shawn Nelson caught two second-half touchdowns and Cody Hull added 161 yards rushing to lead Southern Miss over ASU, 31-19.
The 2006 Sugar Bowl, which pitted the University of Georgia Bulldogs against the West Virginia University Mountaineers, was also moved from the Superdome to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Mountaineers won, in a stunning upset, 38-35.
On October 21, 2005, Benson issued a statement saying that he has not made any decision about the future of the Saints. The San Antonio Express-News reported that sources close to the Saints' organization said that Benson planned to void his lease agreement with New Orleans by declaring the Superdome unusable. Ultimately, the Saints announced that they would be returning to New Orleans, with the first home game 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 — a first in franchise history.
[edit] Picture Gallery
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