The building has quite a history, but rumors are flying tonight about the future of the Superdome. A reporter from the U.K. Daily Record interviewed a member of the National Guard who was posted outside the structure. The serviceman doesn’t think the structure can be saved.
At the Superdome, all that remained last night were piles of stinking rubbish and human waste. No one was allowed in because conditions were a major health hazard.
One serviceman guarding it said: “I don’t reckon they can begin to clear up the mess in there. It will have to be demolished.”
During Monday night’s Florida State-Miami game on ABC, Ted Koppel reported that there was a strong possibility that the Superdome would be demolished.
In USAToday:
The future of the Superdome is cloudy, impacting the city on a variety of fronts. New Orleans Saints officials say the prospects of the building and the team’s home dates remain uncertain. A number of sports events in the Gulf region are reacting, as well as many athletes who live or have family in the affected areas.
New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett played it straight during Monday’s press conference:
Q: There are published reports coming out of Louisiana that the team may never return to New Orleans again. How would you react to that?
Haslett: “I don’t know where they would get those reports and I don’t think they are true. I think that is the last thing on anybodies mind right now. If somebody would say that obviously they do not have a good handle on what they are talking about so I don’t think that is true by any means whatsoever. I don’t think it is on anyone’s mind and that is something that is going to have to be determined after the season is over. Right now we have four months of football and hopefully we can get though those and get into the playoffs and then figure out where we are going to live. Hopefully it is back where we came from.”
Q: Do you have a preference for your home games between San Antonio and Baton Rouge?
Haslett: “I would like to have them here because we are practicing here but I think we owe it to the fans of New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, all the people in Baton Rouge, all the way up to Lafayette and Shreveport. We have season ticket holders all over the Gulf Coast not just New Orleans. I think we owe it to the state and to the region to play a couple games back in Baton Rouge, if we can.”
I personally think it should be put down. After all the horror that happened inside that building, I don’t know how anyone, let alone the citizens of New Orleans, could go back in there. Build a new dome, rename it (not after a commercial sponsor), and dedicate it to the memory of those who lived and died there last week.
Meanwhile, the official website for the Superdome posts only the following statement:
“Until further notice all events scheduled for the Superdome are canceled.”
UPDATE: 09.06.05 – Louisiana Superdome, where thousands were stranded after Katrina, is likely to be torn down, state official tells CNN.
MORE: Superdome likely to be torn down.