Superdome gets approval for “massive” upgrades (1 Viewer)

[Guido Merkins]

I've always thought the location was perfect. Why would it need to be on the riverfront? For aesthetics?

Ideally, it should be closer to the convention center, at least IMO. Larger conventions would love to use the Dome for their general sessions and still have the convention center for the breakout sessions.

For example, the National Catholic Youth Conference takes place every two years in Indianapolis. Why?? Because Lucas Oil Stadium is right next to the convention center. You need a place to put 25,000 Catholics for the general sessions and only a football stadium is big enough. This is an event that would be PERFECT for New Orleans. Much warmer in November than in Indianapolis. Better food. Larger convention center, but the stadium isn't close enough to make it feasible.

As far as hotels, if the stadium was over by the river, there would be more hotels on that end.

 

[Guido Merkins]

I am not from the states and have never been to the states. I understand that for americans the superdome may be just as iconic as some globally known landmarks. But I think I would have to ask many thousands of people around here where the superdome is before someone answers New Orleans, where as every second person knows where Big Ben or the Opera House is.

I grew up in South Africa for what it's worth.

The Dome certainly is not the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben....yeah, it's an American thing, but even among the American things, it's not the Empire State Building or the Golden Gate Bridge....in fact, I think the most recognizable thing in New Orleans is actually the Cathedral with Andrew Jackson in front of it.

Among sports icons, however, the Dome has to rank near the top in this country for sure....

 

[saint_drago]

The Dome certainly is not the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben....yeah, it's an American thing, but even among the American things, it's not the Empire State Building or the Golden Gate Bridge....in fact, I think the most recognizable thing in New Orleans is actually the Cathedral with Andrew Jackson in front of it.

Among sports icons, however, the Dome has to rank near the top in this country for sure....

It's hard to compare The Dome to landmarks that have been around for much, much longer.

Big Ben was completed in 1859. The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889. The Dome was completed in 1975. Of course it isn't as recognizable as structures that have existed for 150 years. Considering that it's only been around for 44 years, to me that makes The Dome's iconic status all the more impressive.

How many NFL stadiums are more instantly recognizable? Not many. How many NBA arenas? Maybe two? And in baseball there aren't as many as I thought there'd be because most of the great old parks have been destroyed and replaced with modern, generic ball parks.

The Dome has hosted Super Bowls, NCAA Championships (Football & Basketball), boxing title fights, Wrestle Mania, you name it. It was already well known but then Katrina happened and it came to represent so much more than just a sports venue.

 

[Brennan77]

The Dome certainly is not the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben....yeah, it's an American thing, but even among the American things, it's not the Empire State Building or the Golden Gate Bridge....in fact, I think the most recognizable thing in New Orleans is actually the Cathedral with Andrew Jackson in front of it.

Among sports icons, however, the Dome has to rank near the top in this country for sure....

The most recognizable feature of New Orleans is the pot hole on Washington Avenue.

 

[ElGatoNegro]

Well sounds like you have a sociology/geography experiment on your hands
We should mix in sports and cultural landmarks, and see which ones people around you know:
Sydney opera house
The louvre
Madison square garden
Taj mahal
The Coliseum (accept either Rome or LA)
The Duomo
Superdome
Meiji Shrine
Flatiron bldg
Camp Nou
Tate Museum
Ipanema
Commanders Palace

Get back to us with the results

From a sample of 4 people in my house at the moment (2 men who watch some sport, 2 women who watch only tennis), number who could name the city in which the landmark is found in brackets:
Sydney opera house (4)
The louvre (4)
Madison square garden (4)
Taj mahal (4)
The Coliseum (accept either Rome or LA) (4 for Rome, 0 for LA (I asked for a location of another famous coliseum after everyone got rome)
The Duomo (0)
Superdome (1 me)
Meiji Shrine (1)
Flatiron bldg (0)
Camp Nou (2)
Tate Museum(0)
Ipanema (3)
Commanders Palace (0)

 

[Tony1Saintfan]

It's one of the most iconic venues in all of sports. When you think of New Orleans, The Dome is one of the first things you think about. Even people who don't follow football know it.

It's a national icon. When you see The Sydney Opera House, you know it's Sydney. When you see the Golden State Bridge, you know it's San Fran. When you see Big Ben, you know it's London. When you see The Dome, you know it's NOLA.

In America we tear down our Roman Colosseums. Hopefully this one never comes down.

You said everything that I was thinking. I know driving into New Orleans from Mississippi I don’t really feel like I’m in New Orleans until I see the dome. I remember as a kid going to the city with my parents I was in awe of the steel skeleton of the dome as it was being built. I remember having my heart ripped out when I first saw the dome after Katrina. Now when I see the dome at night with the lights shining on it I think it’s just amazing. I think the dome will still be relevant long after I’m gone.

 

[saint_drago]

I remember having my heart ripped out when I first saw the dome after Katrina.

Seeing the holes in the roof and the water coming in, that was devastating. It was devastating because I thought that was the end of The Dome. Hell there for awhile people were talking about it being the end of the city as we knew it. Things were so bleak and the mangled Dome was at the heart of it all. It was the face of Katrina.

And then the night it reopened, it transcended football. It transcended sports. That night it stood for hope and rebirth. It stood for the resiliency of the city of New Orleans. That night it stood for the people of a city, state, and region.

Winning the Super Bowl was great. It is my single proudest moment as a sports fan. But the night The Dome reopened, that was one of the proudest moments of my life. I've never been more proud to be a Louisianian.

 

[ktulu909]

Seeing the holes in the roof and the water coming in, that was devastating. It was devastating because I thought that was the end of The Dome. Hell there for awhile people were talking about it being the end of the city as we knew it. Things were so bleak and the mangled Dome was at the heart of it all. It was the face of Katrina.

And then the night it reopened, it transcended football. It transcended sports. That night it stood for hope and rebirth. It stood for the resiliency of the city of New Orleans. That night it stood for the people of a city, state, and region.

Winning the Super Bowl was great. It is my single proudest moment as a sports fan. But the night The Dome reopened, that was one of the proudest moments of my life. I've never been more proud to be a Louisianian.

Alex and I attended that game together. There is no way to put into words the atmosphere of that entire day. I wanna say someone offered us $3500 each for our tickets and it was easily the fastest "no way" either of us ever said.

 

[Tony1Saintfan]

Seeing the holes in the roof and the water coming in, that was devastating. It was devastating because I thought that was the end of The Dome. Hell there for awhile people were talking about it being the end of the city as we knew it. Things were so bleak and the mangled Dome was at the heart of it all. It was the face of Katrina.

And then the night it reopened, it transcended football. It transcended sports. That night it stood for hope and rebirth. It stood for the resiliency of the city of New Orleans. That night it stood for the people of a city, state, and region.

Winning the Super Bowl was great. It is my single proudest moment as a sports fan. But the night The Dome reopened, that was one of the proudest moments of my life. I've never been more proud to be a Louisianian.

I was at that game thanks to a Dr. from Slidell who had tickets but couldn’t go. He knew I was a big fan so he gave me 4 tickets. It was my wife’s first game and she was blown away. I live in Mississippi and we had lost our home to a tornado that spun off from the storm as the eye wall went right over our home. The opening of the dome was a proud moment for the entire region. I had been working 12-16 hour days 7 days a week for a long time and got to take off for 5 days. When the banner dropped outside the dome I cried and felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was seriously thinking about accepting a job offer from Duke energy that would’ve moved us into North Carolina. At that moment I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I had seen the destruction in New Orleans on tv and had seen with my own eyes the destruction in South Mississippi. I heard Glen Beck question if not only New Orleans but the Mississippi Gulf Coast should be rebuilt. I turned him off and never listened to him again. I knew we were going to come back stronger than ever. Getting this team back in a huge way helped encourage people to do great things.

 

[ElGatoNegro]

It's hard to compare The Dome to landmarks that have been around for much, much longer.

Big Ben was completed in 1859. The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889. The Dome was completed in 1975. Of course it isn't as recognizable as structures that have existed for 150 years. Considering that it's only been around for 44 years, to me that makes The Dome's iconic status all the more impressive.

How many NFL stadiums are more instantly recognizable? Not many. How many NBA arenas? Maybe two? And in baseball there aren't as many as I thought there'd be because most of the great old parks have been destroyed and replaced with modern, generic ball parks.

The Dome has hosted Super Bowls, NCAA Championships (Football & Basketball), boxing title fights, Wrestle Mania, you name it. It was already well known but then Katrina happened and it came to represent so much more than just a sports venue.

The problem isn't the length of time it has existed. It's the fact that it doesn't hold universal appeal to people that do not watch American sports. The Empire state building was completed in 1930's and everyone knows about it, the Sydney opera house was completed in 1959.

I cannot name a single NBA arena or baseball field. My interest in the NFL means that I can name most of the stadiums off by heart and to a certain degree appreciate the subtle differences between them (even though I have never been to America), right down to specifics regarding noise levels and atmosphere. But to pretend it's just not old enough to be recognised alongside the Eiffel Tower seems to me to be missing the point. Give it 100 years and I bet it's still just Americans that can recognise great Amercan sports stadiums.

 

[xkeith031x]

Seeing the holes in the roof and the water coming in, that was devastating. It was devastating because I thought that was the end of The Dome. Hell there for awhile people were talking about it being the end of the city as we knew it. Things were so bleak and the mangled Dome was at the heart of it all. It was the face of Katrina.

And then the night it reopened, it transcended football. It transcended sports. That night it stood for hope and rebirth. It stood for the resiliency of the city of New Orleans. That night it stood for the people of a city, state, and region.

Winning the Super Bowl was great. It is my single proudest moment as a sports fan. But the night The Dome reopened, that was one of the proudest moments of my life. I've never been more proud to be a Louisianian.

I'm not tearing up, you are.

 

[saint_drago]

The problem isn't the length of time it has existed. It's the fact that it doesn't hold universal appeal to people that do not watch American sports. The Empire state building was completed in 1930's and everyone knows about it, the Sydney opera house was completed in 1959.

I cannot name a single NBA arena or baseball field. My interest in the NFL means that I can name most of the stadiums off by heart and to a certain degree appreciate the subtle differences between them (even though I have never been to America), right down to specifics regarding noise levels and atmosphere. But to pretend it's just not old enough to be recognised alongside the Eiffel Tower seems to me to be missing the point. Give it 100 years and I bet it's still just Americans that can recognise great Amercan sports stadiums.

I don't know what else I can do El Gato Negro. I agreed with you last Friday. It's an American thing. The Dome isn't well known in South Africa. I get it. I used other landmarks to illustrate a point but you seem to have taken offense to the suggestion that The Dome is an icon.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

The problem isn't the length of time it has existed. It's the fact that it doesn't hold universal appeal to people that do not watch American sports. The Empire state building was completed in 1930's and everyone knows about it, the Sydney opera house was completed in 1959.

I cannot name a single NBA arena or baseball field. My interest in the NFL means that I can name most of the stadiums off by heart and to a certain degree appreciate the subtle differences between them (even though I have never been to America), right down to specifics regarding noise levels and atmosphere. But to pretend it's just not old enough to be recognised alongside the Eiffel Tower seems to me to be missing the point. Give it 100 years and I bet it's still just Americans that can recognise great Amercan sports stadiums.

i have no dog in this fight, i'm just enjoying it as an exercise
i would say that you have a point about football stadiums and the larger world - the only reason most people would know about nfl stadiums is if they follow particular players on MLS teams or some intl friendlies or world cup matches
however
most of this discussion is about name recognition
your inclusion of the empire state bldg made me wonder if most people - while they recognize the name immediately, could pick it out of a group of other bldgs
otoh, the superdome makes NO one of the most recognizable skylines - easy top 10
Paris - eiffel tower
seattle - Space needle
Rome - colliseum
SF - if they included gg bridge
and then probably NO

 

[saint_drago]

i have no dog in this fight, i'm just enjoying it as an exercise
i would say that you have a point about football stadiums and the larger world - the only reason most people would know about nfl stadiums is if they follow particular players on MLS teams or some intl friendlies or world cup matches
however
most of this discussion is about name recognition
your inclusion of the empire state bldg made me wonder if most people - while they recognize the name immediately, could pick it out of a group of other bldgs
otoh, the superdome makes NO one of the most recognizable skylines - easy top 10
Paris - eiffel tower
seattle - Space needle
Rome - colliseum
SF - if they included gg bridge
and then probably NO

No doubt. People might know it without knowing it.

There are a lot of buildings that I recognize and associate with a city but I don't have a clue what they are. Like Dallas. The Dallas skyline has this building with a giant ball on top. I don't know what that building is called but I know it's Dallas.

 

[Doug B]

The Dallas skyline has this building with a giant ball on top. I don't know what that building is called but I know it's Dallas.

You made me curious, so I went and looked it up: that building with the ball is Reunion Tower.