Superdome is a domed sports stadium located in the central business district of New Orleans , Louisiana . Since it opened in 1975, the Superdome has become a major tourist attraction in the city. The Superdome is officially known as the Caesars Superdome. Until 2011, the facility was called the Louisiana Superdome. That year, the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz purchased naming rights to the stadium. From 2011 to 2021, it was officially known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In 2021, Caesars Entertainment, an American hotel and casino company, purchased the naming rights for the stadium.
The Superdome’s dome stands 273 feet (893 meters) high and has a diameter of 680 feet (210 meters). The building covers about 13 acres (5.3 hectares). The Superdome is primarily used for sporting events and has a seating capacity of about 73,200 for football , which can be expanded to about 74,300. It can seat about 67,500 people for basketball .
The Superdome is the home field for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) . The annual Sugar Bowl college football game is also played there, as well as other college games. The Superdome has been the host for seven NFL Super Bowls . Other sports events have occasionally taken place in the Superdome, including boxing and wrestling matches, soccer games, and motocross races. Country, jazz, and rock performers have presented concerts there. Pope John Paul II spoke to 80,000 people in the building in 1987, and the Republican National Convention was held there in 1988.
In 2005, the Superdome housed thousands of people who were made homeless by Hurricane Katrina . The structure itself was damaged by the storm and was closed for repairs for about a year.
