There is a house in New Orleans, it’s called the Superdome. Ok technically she’s called the Mercedes- Benz Superdome, but no one really calls her that, it’s far too formal – she’s the Dome. And right now, maybe more than ever, it is the most famous house in New Orleans. She stands bold and proud defining the Crescent City skyline and on any given Sunday during football season she is holding 70,000+ fans. Construction commenced on August 11, 1971 and the doors opened August 3, 1975. It reopened September 25th, 2006 after Hurricane Katrina with a 23-3 victory by our beloved Saints over our biggest rival, the Atlanta Falcons.
She is a multi-family kind of home – she hosts many different sporting events including seven Super Bowls (more than any other venue), five NCAA Men’s Final Fours, five NCAA Basketball Division I Regionals, four NCAA Basketball First and Second Rounds, and multiple BCS College Football Championship Games. She’s diverse too. As she also has hosted many concerts and special events.
To say she’s big is an understatement- with a diameter of 680 feet, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is the largest fixed dome structure in the world. The area of the roof is 9.7 acres, or 440,000 square feet. It is the world’s largest entirely steel-constructed arena unobstructed by posts or columns and took 20,000 tons of steel to create. (thanks Mercedes- Benz Superdome facts & figures)
And ask anyone who has ever spent a Sunday inside that Dome, she’s LOUD. The kind of loud you can’t really describe, you just must experience. There is a reason our competitors know oh to well, we call it Dome Field Advantage. She is her own life and energy force. Make no mistake about it, she’s has seen her dark days but like the city and her people she’s resilient and she is FUN.
This Sunday, our city and its people will wake with an energy level you can’t get from a five-hour energy drink. It will be off the charts and out of this world. We will dress in black and gold, crank up our music, fill our cups, and descend to our home. And from start to finish we will leave it all on the field with our boys. We welcome the RAMS to our house, but I hope they know the SAINTS are coming.
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- Photos courtesy of John & Marlys Heindel
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- Photos courtesy of John & Marlys Heindel
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- Photos courtesy of John & Marlys Heindel
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- Photos courtesy of John & Marlys Heindel
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