Let me first say that I’m a huge football fan and I think bringing football back to Louisiana is import for the state. That being said, I also think that it could have waited another year.
Hurricane Katrina absolutely destroyed the Superdome. The roof was ripped off, and the entire complex was in shambles. People have debated since then on whether the team should move or the stadium should be rebuilt.
The state decided to rebuild the stadium at a cost of $180 million.
Here are some facts about the process:
The majority of the population of the gulf coast region is still living in Houston or Baton Rouge or Atlanta or wherever, largely because FEMA hasn’t gotten around to replacing or repairing anything but a handful of the homes and buildings and other critical infrastructure destroyed by Katrina.
Here’s who footed the bill for the new and improved Superdome:
- FEMA: $115 Million
- State of Louisiana: $13 Million
- NFL: $15 Million
- LSED Bond: $41 Million
Total: $184 Million
So that works out to 62.5% being paid for by the federal government – less than the 75% required by law, but almost certainly more than just “previous quality.â€
All this, in addition to the new and improved FieldTurf (which is a substantial upgrade over the old AstroTurf playing surface).
Nothing was done to improve the Superdome’s capability as a storm shelter. It is estimated that those upgrades would cost an additional $30-$40 million.
I sure hope my free tickets are in the mail since I’m now a partial owner of their stadium.
