Saints Stadium
After playing at the Superdome for more than two decades, the New Orleans Saints are one of several teams in the NFL who want a new stadium built. In the summer of 2001, owner of the Saints, Tom Benson requested that a new retractable roof stadium be built for the team by the 2006 season. Several sites have been discussed on where the stadium should be built including one 10 blocks from the Superdome. However, since 2001, little progress has been made on a new facility for the Saints. Originally the projected cost was roughly $450 million. Under the original plans, if a new stadium was built, it would be in an oval shape with 60-70,000 seats and a retractable roof to protect fans from bad weather. The stadium would also include a state of the art entertainment system, and fans would also be allowed to tailgate around the stadium. Throughout 2004 and 2005 there were discussions of the Saints possibly relocating to Los Angeles or possibly San Antonio. The team played the 2005 season in San Antonio after Hurricane Katrina damaged the Superdome in August 2005. The team moved back to New Orleans and the Superdome for the 2006 season. There have been no recent discussions of a new stadium for the team.