The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will meet in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 and they will do so inside of Caesars Superdome.
The Super Bowl is an utter spectacle with an exceptionally rich history, much like the Superdome itself. So it is fitting that the biggest game in football returns to one of the premier arenas in the nation.
History and Construction of the Caesars Superdome
Plans for the then-Louisiana Superdome were drawn up in 1967 by Curtis and Davis, a New Orleans architectural firm. Construction began shortly after and the Superdome opened in 1975.
Louisiana businessman David Dixon (who went on to found the short-lived USFL) had been coaxing the NFL to get a franchise in New Orleans for years. Several NFL exhibitions were played at Tulane Stadium and were subjected to the harsh reality of New Orleans thunderstorms.
As a result, then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle told Dixon that the league would never come to New Orleans unless there was a domed arena.
Bonds for the Superdome passed the Louisiana congress just one week after Rozelle announced an NFL franchise was coming to New Orleans.
Due to construction delays and skyrocketing costs associated with the oil crisis of 1973, the Superdome wasn’t ready until 1975, three years behind schedule.
The Saints opened the 1975 NFL season against the Bengals inside the Superdome but lost.
The NFL would bring Super Bowl XII to New Orleans in 1978.
Renovations and Upgrades Over the Years
The Superdome was used by the Louisiana government as a shelter of last resort during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
Citizens who were unable to evacuate before the storm hit could take refuge inside the arena. The image of the Superdome, with a large piece of its outer covering destroyed, became iconic.
The Superdome was shut down for a year, until September 2006. It cost nearly $200,000 to repair the arena, with FEMA providing $115 million and the NFL pitching in $15 million.
The Saints returned to action in the Superdome on Sept. 24, 2006, against the Atlanta Falcons. Not only did New Orleans win the game but put together the best season in the history of the franchise (at least up to that point), making it to the NFC championship game.
New windows were installed and the roof was remodeled in 2008. In 2009, more than 400,000 square feet of aluminum siding was replaced. Escalators were added, suites were renovated and a state-of-the-art point-of-sale system was added. Now, fans could use their credit cards at the concession stands.
In 2011, the lower bowl was demolished and rebuilt, adding 3,500 seats, new lounges and concession stands, as well as new elevators.
That year also saw a name change for the Superdome, with the naming rights being sold to Mercedes-Benz. Signage was added in October 2011.
A statue of Steve Gleason blocking a punt (that the Saints recovered for a touchdown) in the first quarter of the team’s return to the Superdome post-Katrina was installed in 2012.
In July 2021, naming rights for the stadium were sold to Caesars Entertainment.
Capacity of the Caesars Superdome
The Superdome can seat 73,208 for football games, with the capability to expand to 76,468.
The attendance record was set in 2018 for WrestleMania 34, where 78,133 fans poured into the Superdome to watch Brock Lesnar wrestle Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship.
Below are the Super Bowl attendance figures for each of the seven that the Superdome has hosted:
Fun Facts About the Caesars Superdome
The Superdome is the largest fixed dome structure in the world, with a diameter of 680 feet. The roof is a whopping 440,000 square feet. It is unobstructed by columns and took more than 20,000 tons of steel to build.
To say the Superdome is big would be an understatement. It features 166,180 square feet of entertainment space and requires 9,000 tons of air conditioning units to maintain comfortable temperatures.
A partial power failure in 2013 resulted in a 34-minute delay of Super Bowl XLVII. A relay device designed to prevent electrical overloads caused the failure. However, this device was located a quarter-mile from the Superdome.
The Superdome sits upon a 52-acre plot of land.
Virtually every major music artist has played the Superdome: The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Metallica, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, Van Halen are just some of the highlights.
Read More About the Super Bowl
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Inside the Caesars Superdome: Cost, Age, Capacity and Fun Facts Ahead of Super Bowl 59.
