Report: Saints-Panthers game to stay at Superdome
The Saints and Panthers game won't see a shift in venues this weekend, according to The Athletic's Jeff Duncan. Duncan stated the quick turnaround and logistics made it difficult for them to play at Tiger Stadium, so it's game on at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Duncan said via his Twitter account, "But the quick turnaround time and LSU's home game against South Carolina on Saturday night made playing the Panthers game there logistically impossible, so it was never a serious consideration. The Saints will face the same issue for their next home vs. the 49ers on Nov. 15."
It's been 15 years since LSU's stadium has hosted an NFL team, which coincidentally was for the Saints after the displacement during Hurricane Katrina. Tiger Stadium can hold a capacity of 25 percent currently, which would be nearly 26,000 fans in the stands. Late last week, Saints VP of Communications Greg Bensel released a statement regarding the team working with LSU regarding their future home games.
"LSU has been gracious and enthusiastic regarding hosting our future games and we very much appreciate their partnership. We have also discussed the possibility of moving our home games to LSU with the NFL and they are aware of our exploring this option. Obviously, our overwhelming preference is to play our games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with partial fan attendance but there has been no indication from the city on when, or if, this might be approved."
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell addressed the team's concern on Thursday, saying that she had no problems with the Saints playing in Baton Rouge and that it would be a good solution for right now.
"While the Saints' request for a special exception to the city’s COVID-19 guidelines remains under consideration, allowing 20K people in an indoor space presents significant public health concerns. At present, no NFL stadium in the country with a fixed-roof facility is allowing such an exception. We will continue to monitor the public health data, but cannot set an artificial timeline for how and when conditions may allow for the kind of special exemption being requested."
By mid-November, this may all be a moot point. However, the Saints will have to press on and work with what the city will allow.
