Non-Environmental Cost-Benefit News

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A $168 million renovation of the Louisiana Superdome could provide seating and amenities comparable to top new NFL stadiums and give the New Orleans Saints a strong incentive to stay in Louisiana, consultants told a state panel Thursday.


But the consultants told the Superdome Commission that satisfying the Saints demands would require some sort of new tax that would need to generate anywhere between $8.4 million and $12.7 million per year, depending on what the Saints are willing to contribute.


"No matter what, the state would need to identify a new funding source," said Dan Barrett, a Manhattan, Calif.-based sports and entertainment consultant.


Saints executives did not attend the meeting of the Superdome commission but have said they could agree to some combination of renovations and continued cash subsidies from the state in order to drop considerations of moving to another city such as Los Angeles, where the NFL wants a team.


Barrett said a new money source should be found prior to next July, when the state is scheduled to make the fourth installment of a 10-year, $186.5 million payment to the Saints.


A new tax is needed even if the state decides against renovations because hotel and motel tax revenues in the New Orleans area have been falling short of projections since Sept. 11, 2001, making it difficult for the state to make its annual payments to the team.


In addition, the Saints, who can opt out of the current 10-year lease after next season by paying an $81 million penalty, also want to end uncertainty about their long-term plans. If the team´s future in New Orleans is secure, Tom Benson intends to make a pitch at NFL meetings in May for the city to host another Super Bowl in either 2009 or 2010.


State officials expect the Saints to consider at least part of the money spent on renovations as a replacement for the current set of cash payments to the team. Those cash subsidies were seen as a short-term solution to keeping the team here while evaluating Benson´s demand for a better stadium.


The state hired the Kansas City-based Ellerbe Becket design firm to conduct feasibility studies and propose designs for Superdome renovations and for a new stadium.


Becket associates Paul Griesemer and Kelly Kerns first showed the commission how the Superdome in its current state lags behind new or newly renovated NFL facilities they have worked on, including those Seattle, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Chicago.


Their proposals to address those deficiencies included:


— Widening and overhauling concourses to improve fan flow, concessions and rest rooms.
— Adding suites while enlarging and refurbishing the old ones.

— Rebuilding field-level seating to increase the number or premium seats and improve sight lines by moving those seats closer to the field.
— Adding or refurbishing lounges accessible by premium field-level and club seats.

— Adding separate entrances for the club and suite levels so "premium customers have a sense of importance and that they´re well received."
— Removing club level seating in two corners and replacing them with a tower of suites with French Quarter-style balconies.

— Installing new scoreboards and video screens.


All work could be done in two offseasons without displacing the dome´s football tenants or the Essence music festival, Kerns said.


Griesemer added that the distance between the seats and the field on all three levels of the Superdome would be comparable to new football stadiums in Houston and Seattle.


However, the newer stadiums would still have a higher percentage of seats on lower levels, which command higher prices.


Kerns and Griesemer also presented designs for a new stadium on either of two proposed sites. One on state land along the river front, next to the convention center, would cost about $606.5 million. Another at what is now the Iberville housing project would cost $698.3 million, the difference stemming primarily from the cost of acquiring the land. It would be possible to cut the cost of either project by a little more than $100 million, but that would mean dropping a retractable roof and cutting retail and exhibition space.


Kerns said the Superdome is an attractive candidate for renovation, not only because of its size and downtown location, but because it is an architectural landmark that engenders pride in the community.


"One of the big differences we´ve noticed in this project is that people here are really proud of the Superdome," he said. "When Seattle demolished the King Dome, it wasn´t that important to them."


Barrett, who was asked to compare the costs and benefits of the various options, said renovating the dome likely would be the best option given the state´s current cash flow difficulties.


Even extending cash payments without renovating the dome would be more expensive in the long run, he said. He also noted that the Superdome is a state asset and that renovations would improve its attractiveness for a variety of events other than Saints games, including the Sugar Bowl and Super Bowl.


Barrett said teams playing in 21 stadiums that either have been built or renovated since 1995 have seen local revenues increase well above the levels of teams in older facilities.


He noted, however, that the revenue picture alone can be deceiving because many of the teams with new facilities have taken on millions in debt.


The Saints have not had to take on such debt. And with cash payments from the state — which no other NFL team receives — they should be in the top third in the league in current revenues despite being in one of the smallest markets, Barrett said.


The Saints have said only that current payments have placed them in the middle of the league.


Blanco, who has said she favors renovating the Superdome, called on the team this week to open its books to state auditors.


"They claim the rights of a private organization, but at the same time they are asking for public money," the governor said.


Barrett suggested Superdome improvements would not only save the state money, but could potentially generate more revenue for the Saints than the current cash payments.


"Good team performance and good management would give (the Saints) the opportunity to do that," Barrett said.


To that, several politicians in attendance smiled and shook their heads, as if reacting to a joke.