The New Orleans Night were an Arena Football League (AFL) team that competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons and were based in New Orleans, Louisiana . The team was officially announced at a press conference on March 18, 1991. On April 9, the name Night was unveiled as was Eddie Khayat , former head coach of the Nashville Kats , as head coach.
121-595: The Night played their home games inside the massive Louisiana Superdome , also home of the NFL New Orleans Saints , which obviously had to be modified considerably to cut the playing surface and fan seating down to a size appropriate to fit arena football. The Superdome used its basketball configuration, previously used for the New Orleans Jazz NBA team and for some special college basketball games and tournament play, for arena football. Using this setup,
242-685: A Michael Koenen punt that the Saints recovered for a touchdown early in the first quarter of the team's first post-Katrina game in the Superdome. The Superdome hosted the Super Bowl XLVII football game on February 3, 2013. A partial power failure halted game play for about 34 minutes in the third quarter between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers . It caused CBS , who was broadcasting
363-604: A New Orleans antiques dealer, who would be instrumental in bringing the New Orleans Saints (and building their current home stadium, the Superdome ) to his hometown, began to envision football as a possible spring and summer sport. This was not the first time the United States Football League name was used; there had been a previous, short lived attempt in 1945 to start up a league with that name. Over
484-459: A contract with one major network. The lawyer for the USFL, Harvey Myerson, had what he felt were three " smoking guns ". All but one of the league's 28 teams was named as a co-defendant. Al Davis , owner of the then- Los Angeles Raiders , was a major witness for the USFL and his team had been excluded from the lawsuit in exchange for his testimony. ABC Sports' Howard Cosell was also a key witness for
605-466: A dome diameter of 680 feet (207.3 m), and a total floor area of 269,000 square feet (24,991 m ). The Superdome has a listed football seating capacity of 76,468 (expanded) or 73,208 (not expanded) and a maximum basketball seating capacity of 73,432. However, published attendance figures from events such as the Super Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. The basketball capacity does not reflect
726-538: A fall season in 1986. Tampa Bay Bandits owner John F. Bassett , who had registered one of the two "nay" votes, declared his intention to pull his team out of the USFL and organize a new spring football league. However, failing health (he died from cancer in May 1986) forced Bassett to abandon his plans and sell the Bandits to minor partner Lee Scarfone, who agreed to keep the franchise in the USFL. The spring advocates had lost, and
847-509: A handful of USFL franchises abided by the Dixon Plan and were relatively stable, others suffered repeated financial crises, and there were many franchise relocations, mergers, and ownership changes during the league's short existence; however, none of its teams actually folded during any given season. These problems were worsened as some owners began engaging in bidding wars for star players against NFL teams and each other, forcing other owners to do
968-527: A handful of other owners as a way to force a merger between the leagues. As part of this strategy, the USFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League in 1986, and a jury ruled that the NFL had violated anti-monopoly laws. However, in a victory in name only , the USFL was awarded a judgment of just $ 1, which under antitrust laws, was tripled to $ 3. This court decision effectively ended
1089-641: A lease to play at Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University , a facility that seated only 21,000 people. There were plans to establish four franchises in Canada prior to the inaugural season, located in Vancouver , Edmonton , Montreal and the Toronto/Hamilton metroplex (with the last of these to play at Ivor Wynne Stadium ). The proposal was pushed by John F. Bassett , the Canadian who would go on to own
1210-459: A merger did occur, the surviving teams' original investment would more than double. A consulting firm recommended sticking with a spring season. Despite the protests of many of the league's "old guard", who wanted to stay with the original plan of playing football in the spring months, on August 22, 1984 the owners voted to move to the fall starting in 1986. On April 29, 1985, the league's owners voted 13–2 to reaffirm their decision to begin playing
1331-457: A minority owner (and eventually majority owner) of the NFL's San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers . Jim Joseph, a real estate developer who had lost out to friend Tad Taube for the USFL's San Francisco Bay Area franchise, had thought he would be content to be a part-owner of the Oakland Invaders . When the potentially more lucrative Los Angeles franchise became available, Joseph snapped up
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#17328527676951452-529: A pre-cast concrete deck and moved the seating closer to the field, creating 3,500 new seats in the lower bowl. This made the bowl more suitable for football, but less accommodating for baseball. The first baseball game in the Superdome was an exhibition between the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros on April 6, 1976. Superdome officials pursued negotiations with Oakland Athletics officials during
1573-478: A standard player contract. Nonetheless, the other owners did not raise any objections, knowing that having the reigning Heisman winner in the fold would lend the league instant credibility. Other marquee stars to sign with the league were Craig James , Anthony Carter and Kelvin Bryant as well as some familiar NFL vets like Chuck Fusina and members of the NFL vet laden Chicago Blitz , like Greg Landry , showed that
1694-457: A successful season, reaching their first ever NFC Championship Game . In 2008, new windows were installed to bring natural light into the building. Later that year, the roof-facing of the Superdome was also remodeled, restoring the roof with a solid white hue. Between 2009 and 2010, the entire outer layer of the stadium, more than 400,000 square feet (37,000 m ) of aluminum siding, was replaced with new aluminum panels and insulation, returning
1815-466: A team for the final lame duck spring 1985 season. Within a few weeks of the decision, the USFL had been forced to abandon four lucrative markets, abort a move to a fifth and suspend operations in a sixth. In hindsight, this destroyed the USFL's viability, although the Maulers folding likely would've happened anyway due to the team being owned by shopping mall magnate Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. (who also owned
1936-493: Is responsible for excessive wear and tear on a natural grass playing field, baseball clubs were not keen to see football played in their parks throughout the entire baseball season. Thus, the need to use ballparks played a large part in ensuring that the National Football League and early rivals would delay the start of their seasons until September when the baseball season was winding down, thus affording baseball teams
2057-658: The 21 Club in New York City on May 11, 1982, to begin play in 1983. ESPN president Chet Simmons was named the league's first commissioner in June 1982. According to the Dixon Plan, if the league was going to be a success, it needed television revenue and exposure. In 1983, the league signed contracts with both over-the-air broadcaster ABC and a cable TV broadcaster, the four-year old ESPN , to televise games. The deals yielded roughly $ 13 million in 1983 and $ 16 million in 1984, including $ 9 million per year from ABC. ABC had options for
2178-819: The Arena Football League New Orleans VooDoo played their last six home games of the season at the stadium. From 1991 to 1992, the New Orleans Night of the AFL played at the stadium. The annual Louisiana Prep Classic state championship football games organized by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association have been held at the Superdome since 1981, except in 2005 following the extreme damage of Hurricane Katrina (moved to Independence Stadium in Shreveport ) and 2020 due to
2299-736: The Breakers , also had stadium problems. The Boston ownership group wanted to play in Harvard Stadium , but were unable to close a deal with the university; Sullivan Stadium was owned by the New England Patriots , who were unwilling to share their venue with a rival, while Fenway Park was being used in the spring by the Boston Red Sox and was also unavailable, and Alumni Stadium on the campus of Boston College , for reasons never made public, also declined. Finally they were able to negotiate
2420-565: The COVID-19 pandemic (moved to Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana ). The first state championship game in the stadium matched New Orleans Catholic League powers St. Augustine and Jesuit on December 15, 1978. The Purple Knights won their second Class AAAA title in four seasons by ousting the Blue Jays, 13–7, in front of over 42,000 fans. Since the Superdome's reopening in
2541-457: The Concordes , was on precarious financial ground, having just been established to replace the recently folded Alouettes. This led Bassett to drop the idea. Once play actually started, the league experienced the same kind of franchise instability, relocation, and closures that almost all pro football leagues, including the NFL, experienced in their early years. On the whole, the inaugural season
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#17328527676952662-528: The Denver Broncos and Houston Oilers , respectively. In spite of all of these changes, the USFL would never play a fall game. In another effort to keep themselves afloat while at the same time attacking the more established National Football League , the USFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the older league, claiming it had established a monopoly with respect to television broadcasting rights, and in some cases, on access to stadium venues. The case
2783-557: The National Hockey League 's Pittsburgh Penguins at the time), whose son Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. owned the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers (a team now owned by his sister Denise DeBartolo York ), causing a potential conflict of interest for the family between the USFL and the NFL. ABC offered the USFL a 4-year, $ 175 million TV deal to play in the spring in 1986. ESPN offered $ 70 million over 3 years. Following all
2904-695: The Pittsburgh Maulers . Future Pro Football Hall of Fame members defensive end Reggie White of the University of Tennessee, offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman of the University of Oregon , quarterbacks Jim Kelly of the University of Miami and Steve Young of Brigham Young University , and linebacker Sam Mills of Montclair State began their professional careers with the USFL's Memphis Showboats , Los Angeles Express , Houston Gamblers , Los Angeles Express , and Philadelphia Stars , respectively. A number of NFL veterans of all talent levels played in
3025-743: The Sugar Bowl has been played at the Superdome since 1975, which is one of the "New Year's Six" bowl games of the College Football Playoff (CFP). It also traditionally hosts the Bayou Classic , a rivalry game played between the historically black colleges and universities Southern University and Grambling State University . The Superdome was also the long-time home of the Tulane Green Wave football team of Tulane University until 2014 (when they returned on-campus at Yulman Stadium ), and
3146-789: The Tampa Bay Bandits USFL team. However, Senator Keith Davey warned that the Canadian government would act to protect the Canadian Football League (the league in which in all four of the aforementioned Canadian cities had teams in) from competition. The Canadian Football Act had been proposed, but not approved, when Bassett had tried to establish the Toronto Northmen in the World Football League in 1974. Such legislation would have banned US football leagues from playing in Canada. In particular, Montreal's CFL team,
3267-481: The United States Football League in the 1980s) conceived of the Superdome while attempting to convince the NFL to award a franchise to New Orleans. After hosting several exhibition games at Tulane Stadium during typical New Orleans summer thunderstorms, Dixon was told by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that the NFL would never expand into New Orleans without a domed stadium. Dixon then won the support of
3388-592: The Yankees played the Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers and late in 1982, the Yankees considered opening the 1983 regular season at the Superdome if Yankee Stadium would not be ready yet after renovations. The 1983 New York Yankees also played the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays in the Superdome that year. The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals closed the 1984 spring training season with two games at
3509-559: The governor of Louisiana , John McKeithen . When they toured the Astrodome in Houston, Texas in 1966, McKeithen was quoted as saying, "I want one of these, only bigger", in reference to the Astrodome itself. Bonds were passed for construction of the Superdome on November 8, 1966, seven days after commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded New Orleans the 25th professional football franchise. The stadium
3630-737: The 1978–79 baseball off-season about moving the Athletics to the Superdome. The Athletics were unable to break their lease at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum and remained in Oakland. Superdome officials met with the Pittsburgh Pirates in April 1981 about moving the club to New Orleans when the Pirates were unhappy with their lease at Three Rivers Stadium . In the mid-1990s, the Superdome
3751-495: The 1983 champion Michigan Panthers surprised the commissioner with an announcement that they would not be playing in the Detroit area for the 1985 season. Panthers owner A. Alfred Taubman informed the league at the meeting that he had negotiated a conditional merger with Tad Taube's Oakland Invaders depending on the outcome of the vote, with Taubman as majority owner. With an expectation of fall play in 1986, Einhorn decided not to field
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3872-511: The 1985 season at $ 14 million and 1986 at $ 18 million. Each week, there would be a nationally televised game, as well as the USFL's own version of Monday Night football. Like almost all startup pro football leagues, the USFL had some off-the-field factors that prevented the league from starting out with their preferred membership. The problems started when the original owner of the Los Angeles franchise, Alex Spanos , pulled out and instead became
3993-532: The 2010 NFL season against the Saints, Brett Favre , reflecting on the Vikings' loss to the Saints in the 2009 NFC Championship Game, said of the Superdome: "That was, by far, the most hostile environment I've ever been in. You couldn't hear anything." It was during that loss that some of the Vikings players elected to wear earplugs, including Favre. It was the first game of the season that they had chosen to do so. When
4114-514: The Blitz to Hoffman in order to clear the way for his purchase of the Wranglers before the 1984 season, they did not take a close look at Hoffman's financial statements. Realizing he was in over his head, Hoffman was forced to scramble to find minority partners. When there were no takers, he walked away from the team after the second preseason game, forcing the league to take over the team. In San Antonio,
4235-514: The Dixon Plan. Like the NFL, the USFL barred underclassmen from signing. However, league officials were certain that this rule would never stand up in court, so they allowed Walker to sign with the New Jersey Generals . More importantly, Walker signed a three-year contract valued at $ 4.2 million with a $ 1 million signing bonus. Due to the USFL's salary cap rules, this was a personal-services contract with Generals owner J. Walter Duncan, and not
4356-502: The Dixon plan. The plan allowed the league to compete not just by playing its games on a March–June schedule during the NFL off-season, but also by having the following conditions: The Dixon plan laid out a budget to allow all teams to manage losses in the initial lean years. As mentioned earlier, prospective owners had to meet strict capitalization requirements and post a $ 1.3 million line of credit for emergencies. The league's TV revenue met
4477-591: The Dome, and replaced them with permanent steps. Installation of express elevators that take coaches and media from the ground level of the stadium to the press box were also completed. New 7,500-square-foot (700 m ) bunker lounges on each side of the stadium were built. The lounges are equipped with flat-screen TVs, granite counter tops and full-service bars. These state-of-the-art lounges can serve 4,500 fans, whose old plaza seats were upgraded to premium tickets, giving those fans leather chairs with cup-holders. The plaza level
4598-452: The Invaders and Generals. The USFL sought damages of $ 567 million, which would have been tripled to $ 1.7 billion under antitrust law . It hoped to void the NFL's contracts with the three major networks. The USFL proposed two remedies: either force the NFL to negotiate new television contracts with only two networks, or force the NFL to split into two competing 14-team leagues, each limited to
4719-759: The Jacksonville Bulls, with the Bulls as the surviving team. Trump bought the assets of the Houston Gamblers for an undisclosed amount and merged them with the New Jersey Generals. While the Generals were the surviving team, Gamblers coach Jack Pardee was named as the merged team's new coach. Both the Gold and Gamblers had seen their attendance plummet to unsustainable levels, as their fanbases were not willing to abandon
4840-511: The Louisiana Kickoff. Florida State was victorious 24–23 over LSU in the first matchup of the inaugural kickoff. The Superdome also hosts the Bayou Classic , an annual rivalry classic between the state's two largest historically black colleges and universities , Grambling State and Southern . Tulane University played their home games at the stadium from 1975 to 2013 (except 2005) before moving to on-campus Yulman Stadium . In 2013,
4961-514: The NCAA's new policy on arranging the basketball court on the 50-yard line on the football field, per 2009 NCAA policy. In 2011, 3,500 seats were added, increasing the Superdome's capacity to 76,468. The Superdome's capacity was 78,133 for WrestleMania 34 . In 2021, 4,300 seats were removed, with the goal of improving the fan experience by widening concourses, adding quick-service concessions, and building larger elevators and escalators. The chronology of
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5082-502: The NFL contributed $ 15 million. After being damaged from the flooding disaster, a new Sportexe MomentumTurf surface was installed for the 2006 season. On Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006, the NFL announced that the Saints would play their home opener on September 24, 2006 in the Superdome against the Atlanta Falcons . The game was later moved to September 25. The reopening of
5203-399: The NFL had held a draft in 1984 for teams to acquire the rights to USFL players, in the event of the league (or teams in the league) folding. However, it is unlikely the USFL would have been able to put together a viable product in any case. Many of its players had signed contracts with NFL teams after the 1985 season, and the league was some $ 160 million in debt. Five days after the verdict,
5324-511: The NFL to pay a substantial settlement. It considered the television-related claims to be the heart of its case. On August 4—four days after the announcement of the verdict—the USFL owners voted to suspend operations for the 1986 season, with the intent of returning in 1987; the league accurately foresaw the 1987 players' strike and had hoped the strike would give the league access to star players. Players signed to contracts were free to sign with NFL (or other professional teams) immediately. Indeed,
5445-421: The NFL's 26th annual all-star game. The Bowl Championship Series National Championship Games were played at the Superdome four times. The College Football Playoff semifinal game is played every three years in the stadium. The CFP national championship game was played at the stadium once . Two other bowl games are also played there annually: the Sugar Bowl and New Orleans Bowl . The stadium also now hosts
5566-546: The Philadelphia Bicentennial '76 exhibition. New Orleanian Norman J. Kientz built the model with 2,697 pennies and donated it to the Superdome Board of Commissioners in April 1974. It was hoped the stadium would be ready in time for the 1972 NFL season , and the final cost of the facility would come in at $ 46 million. Instead, due to political delays, construction did not start until August 11, 1971, and
5687-576: The Superdome in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. The Yankees hosted the Baltimore Orioles on March 15 and 16, 1980. 45,152 spectators watched the Yankees beat the Orioles 9–3 on March 15, 1980. The following day, 43,339 fans saw Floyd Rayford lead the Orioles to a 7–1 win over the Yankees. In 1981, the Yankees played the New York Mets , Philadelphia Philles and Pittsburgh Pirates in the dome. In 1982,
5808-541: The Superdome occurred on April 3–4, 1999, when the Chicago Cubs and Minnesota Twins played a two-game series dubbed the "New Orleans Major League Baseball Classic." The Busch Challenge/Winn-Dixie Showdown was a college baseball tournament held in the Superdome from 1987 to 1999. LSU , Tulane and University of New Orleans played an in-state team and out-of-state teams from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas in
5929-749: The Superdome were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis and the building opened as the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Its steel frame covers a 13-acre (5.3 ha) expanse and the 273-foot (83 m) dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet (207 m), making it the largest fixed domed structure in the world. The Superdome has routinely hosted major sporting events; it has hosted seven Super Bowl games (and will host its eighth, Super Bowl LIX , in 2025), and five NCAA championships in men's college basketball. In college football,
6050-408: The Superdome, and was named "Mardi Grass". The Superdome replaced the first generation "Mardi Grass" surface to the next-generation FieldTurf surface midway through the 2003 football season on November 16. The Superdome was used as a "shelter of last resort" for those in New Orleans unable to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina when it struck on August 29, 2005. During the storm, a large section of
6171-479: The Superdome. After a National Guardsman was attacked and shot in the dark by an assailant, the National Guard inside the Superdome used barbed wire barricades to separate themselves from the other people in the dome. On September 11, New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass reported there were "no confirmed reports of any type of sexual assault." United States Navy sniper Chris Kyle claimed that during
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#17328527676956292-574: The Tampa Bay Bandits were effectively shut down when a judge placed a lien on the franchise to satisfy back pay owed to former player Bret Clark . All of the team's remaining assets were seized to satisfy the debt. In a desperation move, the Arizona Outlaws arranged a meeting in January 1987 with officials with the Canadian Football League hoping to negotiate a merger between the USFL and CFL;
6413-428: The USFL based upon securing NFL-caliber stadiums in top TV markets, securing a national TV broadcast contract, and controlling spending—and found investors willing to buy in. Though the original franchise owners and founders of the USFL had promised to abide by the general guidelines set out by Dixon's plan, problems arose before the teams took the field, with some franchises facing financial problems and instability from
6534-454: The USFL took his word as evidence that he would be a solid owner for one of its marquee franchises. However, in June 1984, investigations by the FBI, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal revealed that the man who made waves by signing a roster of high-priced young talent did not have even a fraction of the money to buy the team. He abruptly walked away from the team during the playoffs. Gamblers minority owner Jay Roulier took over
6655-423: The USFL were conceived in 1965 by New Orleans businessman David Dixon , who saw a market for a professional football league that would play in the summer, when the National Football League and college football were in their off-season. Dixon had been a key player in the construction of the Louisiana Superdome and the expansion of the NFL into New Orleans in 1967. He developed "The Dixon Plan"—a blueprint for
6776-452: The USFL's existence. The league never played its planned 1986 season, and by the time it folded, it had lost over $ 163 million (equivalent to $ 380 million in 2023 dollars). Three consecutive Heisman Trophy winners signed with USFL teams directly out of college: Georgia running back Herschel Walker and Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie signed with the New Jersey Generals , and Nebraska running back Mike Rozier signed with
6897-405: The USFL's other claims. The jury found that the USFL had changed its strategy to a more risky goal of forcing a merger with the NFL. Furthermore, the switch to a fall schedule caused the loss of five major markets (Philadelphia, Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh, Detroit , the Bay Area) and derailed a move to a sixth (Miami). The jury also made note of a memo Tad Taube wrote about the dispute, which quoted
7018-435: The USFL. The case went to trial in the spring of 1986 and lasted 42 days. On July 29, a six-person jury nominally returned a verdict for the USFL. However, the jury's findings were devastating to the upstart league. The jury declared the NFL a "duly adjudicated illegal monopoly", and found that the NFL had willfully acquired and maintained monopoly status in professional football through predatory tactics. However, it rejected
7139-615: The USFL. Certain NFL backups such as quarterbacks Chuck Fusina and Cliff Stoudt , G Buddy Aydelette , and WR Jim Smith had limited success in the NFL but became major stars in the USFL. But many NFL backups struggled or never made it in the USFL. Additionally, the USFL also lured in NFL starters, including a handful in the prime of their careers including 1980 NFL MVP, Cleveland Browns ' quarterback Brian Sipe , Buffalo Bills ' three-time Pro Bowl running back Joe Cribbs and Kansas City Chiefs ' three-time Pro Bowl safety Gary Barbaro . For many decades after its inception, American football
7260-556: The annual tournament. The in-state team was Louisiana-Lafayette . The out-of-state teams were Alabama , Arkansas , Auburn , Cal State Fullerton , Duke , Florida , Florida State , Georgia , Georgia Southern , Georgia Tech , Houston , Lamar , Miami (FL) , Mississippi State , NC State , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Oklahoma State , Ole Miss , Oral Roberts , South Alabama , Southern California , Southern Mississippi , Texas A&M , UCLA . United States Football League The United States Football League ( USFL )
7381-408: The baseball season. Los Angeles was seen as critical to the league's success, and Dixon and Simmons felt that two cable moguls would be better suited to head the league's efforts there. Joseph was forced to move his operation. The team opened play in Phoenix, Arizona , where it became the Arizona Wranglers . Daniels and Harmon's team became the Los Angeles Express . The League's Boston franchise,
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#17328527676957502-421: The beginning. Due to pressure from the NFL, some franchises had difficulty securing leases in stadiums that were also used by NFL teams, forcing them to scramble to find alternative venues in their chosen city or hurriedly move to a new market. The USFL had no hard salary cap , and because of this, some teams quickly escalated player payrolls to unsustainable levels despite pledges to keep costs under control. While
7623-434: The blaze that initially started when a pressure washer caught fire. Firefighters brought the fire under control within an hour. No structural damage occurred to the building, and future events were not impacted. The Superdome is located on 70 acres (28 ha) of land, near the former Girod Street Cemetery . The dome has an interior space of 125 million cubic feet (3,500,000 m ), a height of 253 feet (77.1 m),
7744-436: The building to its original champagne bronze colored exterior. An innovative barrier system for drainage was also added, allowing the dome to resemble its original facade. In addition, escalators were added to the outside of the club rooms. Each suite includes modernized rooms with raised ceilings, leather sofas, and flat-screen TVs, as well as glass brushed aluminum and wood-grain furnishings. A new $ 600,000 point-of-sale system
7865-399: The capacity for football is as follows: The Superdome's primary tenant is the NFL's New Orleans Saints . The team regularly draws capacity crowds. The NFL has hosted seven Super Bowls at the Superdome, most recently Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The Superdome is scheduled to host Super Bowl LIX in 2025. The 1976 Pro Bowl was held at the Superdome on Monday, January 26, 1976. It was
7986-420: The comic strip Pogo : " we have met the enemy and he is us ." Most importantly, the jury found that the NFL did not attempt to force the USFL off television. (Indeed, ESPN remained willing to carry USFL games in the fall, several of the league's teams also had local broadcast contracts, and 1986 also happened to be the inaugural season of the Fox Broadcasting Company , a network that would establish itself as
8107-500: The dome on March 31, 1984, and April 1, 1984. In what was a preview of the 1989 World Series , the Oakland A's played the San Francisco Giants in two games on March 28–29, 1989. In 1991, the Los Angeles Dodgers played the Oakland A's in two games on March 22–23, 1991. The A's also played the New York Mets in two contests on March 26–27, 1993. In 1994, the Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees in two games on April 1–2, 1994. The last professional baseball games played in
8228-699: The dome still had a capacity of 30,000 for the Night. Also, during the 1992 season, the Night used a huge blue curtain to close off the rest of the unused dome, to give a smaller arena feel to it. Team colors were Midnight Blue , Sunset Orange , and Moonlight White . The Night wore Zubaz designed uniforms used during the 1991 season. The team was disbanded after a winless 1992 season. Wide receivers/Defensive backs Offensive linemen/Defensive linemen Kickers Rookies in italics Roster updated March 15, 2013 32 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS → More rosters The following Night players were named to All-Arena Teams: Note: Statistics are correct through
8349-426: The dome was celebrated with festivities including a free outdoor concert by the Goo Goo Dolls before fans were allowed in, a pre-game performance by U2 and Green Day performing a cover of the Skids ' " The Saints Are Coming ", and a coin toss conducted by then-President George W. Bush . In front of ESPN 's largest-ever audience at that time, the Saints won the game 23–3 with 70,003 in attendance, and went on to
8470-452: The end of the 1992 Arena Football League season . Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome ), commonly known as the Superdome , is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans , Louisiana, United States. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Plans to build
8591-505: The era. Even in cities where the fans were not numerous, the fan base was passionate; the documentary Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? made note of a regular-season game in which Boston Breakers fans stormed the field following a come-from-behind victory over the Stars at Nickerson Field . Arizona, Baltimore, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Memphis, New Jersey, Orlando and a newly reorganized Tampa Bay team were scheduled to play an ultimately aborted 18-game fall schedule season in 1986. At
8712-513: The exclusive use of their facilities in the spring and summer. Starting in the 1950s, a number of technological changes and trends eventually caused some to question the traditional timing of the American football season. In particular, football became a much more lucrative sport, the invention of artificial turf and developments in the growth and maintenance of natural grass made it more practical for baseball and football to be played at elite levels in
8833-467: The facility Mercedes-Benz Superdome . Mercedes-Benz did not renew the contract, and in July 2021 it was announced that the naming rights would be sold to Caesars Entertainment , under which it was renamed Caesars Superdome . On July 27, 2012, a statue was unveiled at a plaza next to the Superdome. The work, titled Rebirth , depicts one of the most famous plays in Saints history— Steve Gleason 's block of
8954-657: The fall advocates now set their sights on forcing a merger with the NFL, or at the very least winning a sizable settlement and securing a TV network for fall broadcasts. As a direct result of this decision, the Pittsburgh Maulers folded rather than compete with the Pittsburgh Steelers , the sale of the struggling Washington Federals to Weiser's Miami-based ownership group collapsed, the New Orleans Breakers and 1984 champion Philadelphia Stars had to relocate, and
9075-460: The field. For instance, the Michigan Panthers reportedly lost $ 6 million—three times what Dixon suggested a team could afford to lose in the first season—even as they became the league's first champions. The desire to compete with other loaded USFL teams and for the league to be seen as approaching NFL caliber led to almost all of the teams exceeding the Dixon Plan's team salary cap amount within
9196-462: The first employee, Dixon signed up 12 cities—nine where there already were NFL teams and three where there were not. The Dixon Plan called for teams in top TV markets to entice the networks into offering the league a TV deal. All but two of the 12 initial teams were located in the top 13 media markets in the US at the time. After almost two years of preparation, Dixon formally announced the USFL's formation at
9317-466: The first regular-season game in the facility. Tulane Stadium , the original home of the Saints, was condemned for destruction on the day the Superdome opened. The first Super Bowl played in the stadium was Super Bowl XII in January 1978 , the first in prime time . The original artificial turf playing surface in the Superdome was produced and developed by Monsanto (which made the first artificial playing surface for sports, AstroTurf) specifically for
9438-473: The four initially envisioned by Dixon, to pocket two more expansion fees. This put more pressure on the TV deal, which was not designed to support an 18 team league. A frustrated Dixon sold his stake and got out. Additionally, the league was so determined to appear to put a credible product on the field that on some occasions, it set aside its own vetting procedures–all of which backfired disastrously. When Diethrich sold
9559-401: The game, to lose some of its cameras as well as voiceovers by commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms . At no point did the game go off the air, though the game had no audio for about two minutes. While the lights were coming back on, sideline reporter Steve Tasker reported on the outage as a breaking news situation until power was restored enough for play to continue. On February 8, 2013, it
9680-412: The growing popularity of college football (which also played a fall season to coincide with the fall semester) led to the construction and expansion of dozens of large stadiums for collegiate teams, which were mostly football-specific or at least designed primarily for football, and were primarily in cities without professional football franchises. It was in this environment, in 1965, that David Dixon ,
9801-409: The hurricane, he and another sniper climbed to the top of the dome and killed 30 armed looters during the chaos following the event. This claim has never been independently verified, and there is no evidence of dozens of people being slain by a sniper or gunman, with commentary noting that it would be unlikely that 30 people would have been killed without anyone noticing it or reporting it to the media or
9922-459: The league began discussing the possibility of competing head-to-head with the NFL by playing its games in the fall beginning in 1986. The strongest proponents of playing in the fall were Chicago owner Eddie Einhorn and Generals owner Donald Trump. Einhorn and Trump argued that if the USFL moved to the fall, it would eventually force a merger with the NFL in which the older league would have to admit at least some USFL teams. They also argued that if
10043-496: The league was so enamored at Manges' apparent oil wealth that it not only did not closely vet his application, but did not require him to make an initial capital investment. Instead, Manges paid team expenses out of pocket as they arose, resulting in an operation that appeared short of professional standards. The Gunslingers' offices were in a double-wide trailer, and they used folding chairs to bring Alamo Stadium up to minimum capacity. Manges' practices caught up with him in 1985, when
10164-430: The league's first 6–18 months. Dixon urged the members of the league to reduce spending. Rather than backing off spending, recommitting to a firmer salary cap, and dispersing some of the larger contracts to expansion teams to alleviate the problem, the league sought other options to take on revenue to cover increased costs overruns. These actions magnified the problem. The league added six more teams in 1984 rather than
10285-485: The mergers and shutdowns, there just were not enough spring football advocates left in the league to accept those contracts. The owners in the league walked away from what averaged out to $ 67 million per year starting in 1986 to pursue victory over the NFL. After the 1985 season, more plans were announced to accommodate the fall schedule, pool financial resources and avoid costly head-to-head competition with NFL teams. Two mergers were announced. The Denver Gold merged with
10406-415: The most basic expenses. With this in mind, Dixon wanted to ensure that USFL teams had the wherewithal to put a credible product on the field. To that end, the league required potential owners to submit to a detailed due diligence and meet strict capitalization requirements. They were also required to post a $ 1.5 million letter of credit for emergencies. With respected college and NFL coach John Ralston as
10527-484: The nation's fourth major broadcast network .) In essence, the jury felt that while the USFL was harmed by the NFL's de facto monopolization of pro football in the United States, most of its problems were due to its own mismanagement. It awarded the USFL nominal damages of $ 1, which was tripled under antitrust law to $ 3. When NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle and NFL broadcasting chief Val Pinchbeck initially heard
10648-475: The next 15 years, Dixon studied the last two challengers to the NFL's dominance of pro football—the successful American Football League and the troubled World Football League . In 1980, he commissioned a study by Frank Magid Associates that found promising results for a spring and summer football league. He had also formed a blueprint for the prospective league's operations, which included early television exposure, heavy promotion in home markets, and owners with
10769-506: The oil market collapsed. The result was a litany of bounced checks, culminating in the team going the last four games without pay. It later emerged that Manges had been in financial difficulty as early as 1980. The worst situation of all, however, was in Los Angeles. Original owners Alan Harmon and Bill Daniels sold the Express to mortgage banker J. William Oldenburg before the 1984 season. Swayed by Oldenburg's apparent net worth of $ 100 million,
10890-544: The outer covering was peeled off by high winds. The photos of the damage, in which the concrete underneath was exposed, quickly became an iconic image of Hurricane Katrina. A few days later, the dome was closed until September 25, 2006. By August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients and a man who is believed to have committed suicide by jumping from the upper-level seats. There were also unconfirmed reports of rape, vandalism, violent assaults, crack dealing/drug abuse, and gang activity inside
11011-421: The plaza level seats remained moveable, the capacity for baseball was 63,525 and the field size was as follows: 325 feet (99 m) to both left field and right field, 365 feet (111 m) to both left-center field and right-center field, 421 feet (128 m) to center field, and 60 feet (18 m) to the backstop. The bowl was reconfigured in a renovation from 2006 to 2011, which replaced the moveable seats with
11132-535: The police. Kyle's story had been reported in a number of publications, including the New Yorker , with Kyle relating the story to other military personnel. The Superdome cost $ 185 million to repair and refurbish. To repair the Superdome, FEMA put up $ 115 million, the state spent $ 13 million, the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District refinanced a bond package to secure $ 41 million and
11253-403: The possibilities of staging simultaneous high school football games side by side and suggested that the synthetic surface be white. Blount International of Montgomery, Alabama was chosen to build the stadium. As the dome was being constructed, various individuals developed eccentric models of the structure: one was of sugar, another consisted of pennies. The so-called "penny model" traveled to
11374-399: The ramp system, improved concourses, and field-level end zone boxes. The first phase of work began January 2020 and includes installing alternative exits and constructing a large kitchen and food-service area. On September 21, 2021, thick black smoke was seen rising from the top of the Superdome while renovations and maintenance were underway by workers on the roof. One person was injured in
11495-408: The requirements of the Dixon plan. The Plan called for first year attendance over 18,000 per game. In 1983, 10 of the 12 teams exceeded that threshold. Player spending was where the league deviated from the plan, in the name of pursuing stars. The league's biggest splash—the signing of Herschel Walker, a three time All-American and the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner—represented a significant breach from
11616-441: The resources and patience to absorb years of losses—which he felt would be inevitable until the league found its feet. He also assembled a list of prospective franchises located in markets attractive to a potential television partner. Dixon was well aware that many attempts to challenge the NFL had foundered due to financial troubles. The WFL, for instance, was plagued by teams that were so badly underfinanced that they could not meet
11737-464: The rights to the area. The owners of the USFL's San Diego franchise, cable television moguls Bill Daniels and Alan Harmon , were denied a lease for Jack Murphy Stadium . While this was in part due to pressure from the Chargers, the main opposition came from Major League Baseball 's Padres who held the lease to the stadium at the time and did not want to see football played at the facility throughout
11858-426: The same facility at the same time of the year, and the increasing influence of television combined with the prevalence of a farm system in which Major League Baseball controlled the rights to baseball levels in all levels of play caused many minor league baseball clubs (some of whom played in large facilities that could be easily re-purposed for major league football) to be much less lucrative in their own right. Finally,
11979-583: The same or face a competitive disadvantage. On the field, the USFL was regarded as a relatively good product. Many coaches and team executives had NFL experience, and many future top NFL players and coaches got their start in the new league, including several who were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and/or the College Football Hall of Fame . The Michigan Panthers won the first USFL championship in 1983. The Philadelphia Stars won
12100-462: The second USFL championship in 1984, and after relocating to Baltimore , won the final USFL championship in 1985 as the Baltimore Stars in what was effectively a rematch of the first USFL title game. In August 1984, the USFL voted to move from a spring to a fall schedule in 1986 to compete directly with the NFL. This was done at the urging of New Jersey Generals majority owner Donald Trump and
12221-479: The stadium skyrocketed to $ 165 million. Along with the state police , Elward Thomas Brady, Jr. , a state representative from Terrebonne Parish and a New Orleans native, conducted an investigation into possible financial irregularities, but the Superdome went forward despite the obstacles. The New Orleans Saints opened the 1975 NFL season at the Superdome, losing 21–0 to the Cincinnati Bengals in
12342-472: The stadium will have a more vibrant and naturally pleasing system resembling natural daylight. In November 2019, phase one plans were approved by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, commonly known as the Superdome Commission, for a $ 450 million renovation. The renovation, designed by Trahan Architects (founded by Victor F. "Trey" Trahan III, FAIA ), will include atriums that will replace
12463-449: The synthetic turf system for the Superdome. The Superdome has, as of 2017, the largest continuous synthetic turf system in the NFL. Beginning in 2011, demolition and new construction began to the lower bowl of the stadium, reconfiguring it to increase seating by 3,500, widening the plaza concourse, building two bunker club lounges and adding additional concession stands. Crews tore down the temporary stairs that led from Champions Square to
12584-571: The team in October, only to be pushed out just months later when it emerged that he too had lied about his net worth. The league was forced to run the team on a shoestring that season. With the new wave of teams, more college stars like Marcus Dupree , Mike Rozier , Reggie White , Jim Kelly , Steve Young and other young stars of the day signed high dollar contracts to play for USFL teams in 1984, as did high-profile NFL stars like Doug Williams , Brian Sipe , Joe Cribbs , and Gary Barbaro . In 1984,
12705-501: The time, only New Jersey and Tampa Bay shared markets with an NFL team (in New Jersey's case, they shared with two NFL teams). It was announced that the USFL would be returning in March 2022 with at least eight teams and a broadcasting deal with Fox Sports . Despite claims that this was a reactivation of the old league, no figures from the original league were involved in the new league, which
12826-431: The upstart league was a credible challenger to the NFL. The league also made a serious run at some other stars, such as Eric Dickerson and Dan Marino . The pursuit of top-level talent proved to be a double-edged sword. While the presence of many blue-chip stars proved the league could put a competitive product on the field, many teams wildly exceeded the league's player salary cap in order to put more competitive teams on
12947-417: The verdict, they were devastated; Pinchbeck later recalled that he thought Rozelle would have a heart attack. While on their way to the league office, however, they heard that the USFL had lost nearly all of its claims, and headed back to the courthouse. The verdict was a classic Pyrrhic victory . The USFL had essentially staked its future on winning the suit, hoping to finance the move to the fall by forcing
13068-543: The wake of Hurricane Katrina and the increased success of the New Orleans Saints, the Superdome has developed a reputation for having a very strong home field advantage. While all domed stadiums possess this quality to some degree, the Superdome is known to be extremely loud during games, especially during offensive drives by the visiting team. During a pregame interview before the Minnesota Vikings' opening game of
13189-414: Was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be played in the autumn/winter, directly competing against the long-established National Football League (NFL). However, the USFL ceased operations before that season was scheduled to begin. The ideas behind
13310-455: Was a success for the league. Attendance was in line with league expectations at about 25,000 fans per game, and television ratings slightly exceeded projections (an average Nielsen rating of 6.1, when the league had aimed for 5.0). The brand of play was exciting and entertaining, and the 1983 championship was generally recognized as being a more entertaining game than most of the Super Bowls of
13431-551: Was also installed, allowing fans to purchase concessions with credit cards throughout the stadium for the first time. During the summer of 2010, the Superdome installed 111,831 square feet (10,389.4 m ) of the UBU Speed S5-M synthetic turf system, an Act Global brand. In 2017 Act Global installed a new turf in time for the NFL season. For the 2018, 2019, and 2020 NFL seasons, Turf Nation Inc located in Dalton, Georgia, have supplied
13552-437: Was conceptualized to be a multifunctional stadium for football, baseball and basketball—with moveable field level stands that would be arranged specifically for each sport and areas with dirt (for the bases and pitchers mound) covered with metal plates on the stadium floor (they were covered by the artificial turf during football games)—and there are also meeting rooms that could be rented for many different purposes. Dixon imagined
13673-470: Was extended, closing in space between the concourse and plaza seating, adding new restrooms and concession areas. The renovations also ended the stadium's ability to convert to a baseball configuration. The renovations were completed in late June 2011 in time for the Essence Music Festival . Naming rights to the Superdome were sold for the first time in 2011 to automaker Mercedes-Benz , renaming
13794-537: Was first heard by United States District Judge Peter K. Leisure in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York . The USFL claimed that the NFL had bullied ABC, CBS and NBC into not televising USFL games in the fall. It also claimed that the NFL had a specific plan to eliminate the USFL, the "Porter Presentation." In particular, the USFL claimed the NFL conspired to ruin
13915-526: Was instead backed by the principals of the extant developmental showcase The Spring League , Brian Woods and Fox Sports . On June 3, 2021, the new USFL confirmed a return in the spring of 2022. In December 2023, it was announced that the new USFL had merged with the XFL to form the United Football League . At first the USFL competed with the older, more established National Football League by following
14036-533: Was never compromised. During the 2016 off-season, the smaller videoboards formerly located along the end zone walls above the upper seating bowl were replaced with two large Panasonic HD LED displays that stretch 330 feet (100 m) wide and 35 feet (11 m) tall that are much easier to see throughout the bowl. Other upgrades included a complete upgrade to the Superdome's interior floodlighting system to an efficient LED system with programmable coloring, light show effects, and instant on-off; in normal mode
14157-409: Was not finished until August 1975, seven months after Super Bowl IX was scheduled to be played in the stadium. Since the stadium was not finished in time for the Super Bowl, the game had to be moved to Tulane Stadium , and was played in cold and rainy conditions. Factoring in inflation, construction delays, and the increase in transportation costs caused by the 1973 oil crisis , the final price tag of
14278-567: Was planned to be the home of the yet-to-be named New Orleans team, a charter franchise of the United League (UL) which was a planned third league of Major League Baseball (MLB) that never came to fruition. The American Association New Orleans Pelicans played at the Superdome during the 1977 season. The Pelicans' season attendance was 217,957 at the dome. The Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros played an exhibition game on April 6, 1976. The New York Yankees played exhibition games at
14399-422: Was reported that a relay device intended to prevent an electrical overload had caused the failure. The device was located in an electrical vault owned and operated by Entergy , the electrical utility for the New Orleans area. That vault is approximately one quarter mile away from the Superdome. A subsequent report from an independent auditor confirmed the relay device as the cause. The Superdome's own power system
14520-605: Was the home venue of the New Orleans Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1975 until 1979. In 2005, the Superdome housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina . The building suffered extensive damage as a result of the storm, and was closed for many months afterward. The building was fully refurbished and reopened in time for the Saints' 2006 home opener on September 25. Local businessman David Dixon (who later founded
14641-475: Was widely regarded as a second-tier sport behind baseball which was long-regarded as America's national pastime. As a result, even the elite levels of American football generally lacked both the financial wherewithal to build their own facilities and the political clout to secure significant public funds to construct such venues, and as such were compelled to play primarily in ballparks hastily re-purposed for football. However, since gridiron football in particular
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