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Louisiana Superdome
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The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, The Dome or the New Orleans Superdome is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was designed in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis, which also designed the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library (1956-58). The Superdome is home to the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
The Superdome was once the largest fixed domed structure in the world, a title which is now held by the O2 Arena in London, England.
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Encyclopedia
The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, The Dome or the New Orleans Superdome is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was designed in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis, which also designed the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library (1956-58). The Superdome is home to the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
The Superdome was once the largest fixed domed structure in the world, a title which is now held by the O2 Arena in London, England. Nonetheless, its structural steel frame covers a expanse. Its tall dome is made of a Lamella multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of .
In 2005, the Superdome came to international attention when it housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina.
Capacity
The Superdome has a listed 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 more than 87,500 spectators.
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. Blount International of Montgomery, Alabama was chosen to build the stadium.
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, 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 first Super Bowl played in the stadium was Super Bowl XII in January 1978, the first in prime time.
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 of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has an interior space of , a height of , a dome diameter of , and a total floor area of .
The New Orleans Arena, adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome, opened on October 19, 1999. A smaller conventional indoor arena, it was designed by Arthur Q. Davis, whose former firm had designed the Superdome.
The Superdome converted its artificial grass surface to FieldTurf midway through the 2003 football season, replacing the AstroPlay surface on November 16. After being damaged from the flooding of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a new FieldTurf surface was installed for the 2006 season.
Effect of 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. During the storm, a large section of the outer covering was peeled off by high winds. The photos of the damage, in which the concrete underneath was exposed, quickly became an iconic image of Hurrican katrina.
A few days later the dome was closed until September 25, 2006. During the ordeal, the stadium housed about 30,000 people.
Reopening after Katrina
The Superdome cost $193 million to repair and refurbish. To repair the Superdome, FEMA put up $115 million, the state spent $13 million, the Louisiana Stadium & Expedition District refinanced a bond package to secure $41 million and the NFL contributed $15 million.
On Super Bowl XL Sunday (February 5, 2006), the NFL announced that the Saints would play their home opener on September 24, 2006 in the Superdome against the Atlanta Falcons. The game was later moved to Monday night, September 25, 2006.
The dome reopened amid a wave of pomp and circumstance, including a free outdoor concert by the Goo Goo Dolls before fans were allowed in, 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 (at that time), the Saints won the game 23–3 with 70,003 in attendance and went on to a successful season reaching the their first ever NFC Championship Game.
The first bowl game played in the Superdome after Katrina was the New Orleans Bowl won by the Troy University Trojans 41–17 over the Rice Owls.
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. Currently the Superdome has a scheduled Super Bowl in 2013.
- 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, 2004, and 2008, and is scheduled to host the game again in 2012. LSU's win in the 2008 BCS National Championship saw a Superdome record of 79,651, the largest crowd for a sporting event.
- Sugar Bowl -- The Superdome has been home to the Sugar Bowl since 1975 (except in 2006, due to Hurricane Katrina damage, the game was temporarily relocated to Atlanta).
- The Final Four -- the Superdome hosted the NCAA college basketball Final Fours in 1982, 1987, 1993, and 2003. The Superdome is scheduled to host the game again in 2012.
- The Bayou Classic -- a football game between two historically black universities, Grambling State and Southern University.
- New Orleans Bowl -- features the winner of the Sun Belt Conference (based in the Greater NOLA area) against a member of Conference USA
- Louisiana high school football championships
- The first National Wrestling Alliance Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tourmanent on April 19 1986.
- On September 13, 1987 Pope John Paul II held a mass in the Superdome.
- 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 Party national convention was held in the Superdome. Pushing for the New Orleans site was Virginia Martinez, then the Louisiana National Committeewoman who lobbied for her adopted home city before the Executive Committee of the Republican National Convention. The convention nominated George Herbert Walker Bush of Texas for U.S. President and J. Danforth Quayle of Indiana for the vice presidency.
- Two 1994 spring training games between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
- WCW Monday Nitro held a show on January 13, 1997.
- Hurricane Katrina Evacuation
- On August 22, 2001 former pop band NSYNC performed at the Superdome during their "Pop Odyssey Tour"; the concert was released on VHS and DVD early 2002 titled "Pop Odyssey Live".
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