Site map
SUPER BOWLS: 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2002 ARTIFICIAL TURF: ever since 1975
The Superdome has a unique solution to the age-old football-vs.-baseball configuration dilemma: they simply retract the entire lower deck along both of the sidelines. That explains why the lower deck in the Superdome is so small compared to most other stadiums. Like the Kingdome in Seattle, it combines a circular perimeter with a more-or-less rectangular interior field shape, though it is actually an "octorad," like in Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego or Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. There are also strong parallels with Rogers Centre in Toronto, in terms of the grandstand shape, though not the field itself. The Superdome is unique in how the symmetry of each deck is slightly different, more oblong in the upper deck.
Major League exhibition games have been played in the Superdome several times over the years, but there was really never much chance that New Orleans would get a Major League franchise, due to its relatively small population. That's why the baseball configuration is problematic, with very poor sight lines in the upper decks; big league baseball just wasn't regarded as a serious prospect. Surprisingly, however, in the year 1900 New Orleans was the twelfth biggest U.S. city, with 287,104 residents. In the 2000 Census, however, it ranked #31, with 484,674, and of course, after Hurricane Katrina, the population shrank considerably. How long will the Saints remain in the "Big Easy"? The future of professional sports in that marvelous urban center is uncertain...
The Superdome was the site of the 1987 "Busch Challenge" college series; see video link below.
In September 2005 the Superdome was used as an emergency shelter for about 20,000 survivors of Hurricane Katrina, many of whom were later transported to the Astrodome in Houston.
SOURCES: USA Today / Fodor's (1996); YouTube; superdome.com; stadiumsofnfl.com
