Mercedes - Benz Superdome The Mercedes - Benz Superdome , previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome , is a sport s and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans , Louisiana , USA . Plans were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis . It is home to the NFL ' s New Orleans Saints , the NCAA ' s Division I - A Tulane Green Wave football team ( the largest football stadium in Conference USA ) , the State Farm Bayou Classic , the R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl , the Allstate Sugar Bowl and , every fourth year , the BCS National Championship game . It is one of the few facilities in the US which can host major sporting events , such as the Super Bowl and the Final Four ; as such , given New Orleans ' popularity as a tourist destination , whenever it bids to host such an event it routinely makes the " short list " of candidates being considered . It has been chosen to host Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013 . It is the largest fixed domed structure in the world . Its steel frame covers a expanse . Its dome is made of a Lamella multi - ringed frame and has a diameter of . In 2005 , it came to international attention when it was damaged by Hurricane Katrina and housed thousands of people seeking shelter from the storm . On October 3 , 2011 , it was announced that Mercedes - Benz purchased naming rights to the stadium . The new name took effect on October 23 , 2011 . It is the third stadium that has naming rights from Mercedes - Benz ( and first in the United States ) , after the Mercedes - Benz Arena in Stuttgart , Germany and the Mercedes - Benz Arena in Shanghai , China . Description . The Superdome is located on of land , including the former Girod Street Cemetery . The dome has an interior space of , a height of , a dome diameter of , and a total floor area of . Capacity . The Superdome has a listed football seating capacity of 76 , 468 ( expanded ) or 69 , 703 ( not expanded ) , a maximum basketball seating capacity of 73 , 432 , and a maximum baseball capacity of 63 , 525 ; however , published attendance figures from events such as the Sugar Bowl football game have exceeded 85 , 000 . The basketball capacity does not reflect 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 chronology of the capacity for football is as follows : Football . The Superdome ' s primary tenant is the NFL ' s New Orleans Saints . The team regularly draws capacity crowds . The NFL has hosted six Super Bowl s at the Superdome , with a seventh scheduled for 2013 . In college football , Tulane University plays all of their home games at the stadium , although the school is planning to build a smaller on - campus stadium and move there in 2014 . The BCS National Championship Game has been played at the Superdome four times . Two other bowl games are also played there annually : the Sugar Bowl and New Orleans Bowl . The Superdome also hosts the Bayou Classic , a major regular - season game between two of the state ' s historically black colleges and universities , Grambling State and Southern . Home field advantage . Since the Superdome ' s reopening in 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 get extremely loud during games , especially during offensive drives by the visiting team . During a pregame interview before the Minnesota Vikings ' opening game of the 2010 NFL season against the Saints , Brett Favre , reflecting on the Vikings ' loss to the Saints in the 2009 – 10 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 . Baseball . The first baseball game in the Superdome was an exhibition between the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros on April 6 , 1976 . The American Association New Orleans Pelicans played at the Superdome during the 1977 season . The Pelicans ' season attendance was 217 , 957 at the dome . Superdome officials pursued negotiations with Oakland Athletics officials during the 1978 – 1979 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 . The New York Yankees played exhibition games at 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 to 3 on March 15 , 1980 . The following day , 43 , 339 fans saw Floyd Rayford lead the Orioles to a 7 to 1 win over the Yankees . Late in 1982 , the Yankees considered opening the 1983 regular season at the Superdome if Yankee Stadium would not be ready yet after renovations . Attendance slipped to 15 , 129 for a March 27 , 1983 Yankees - Blue Jays exhibition game at the Superdome . The Philadelphia Phillies and St . Louis Cardinals closed the 1984 spring training season with two games at the dome on March 31 , 1984 and April 1 , 1984 . Basketball . The NCAA has hosted the Men ' s Final Four at the Superdome five times , most recently in 2012 . The NBA ' s New Orleans Jazz used the Superdome as their home court , from 1975 – 1979 . In 1977 , the Jazz set a then - record in attendance for an NBA game , with 35 , 077 watching the Jazz led by Pete " Pistol Pete " Maravich against the Philadelphia 76ers . Boxing . The Superdome has been the venue of several major boxing events , such as when Muhammad Ali won the world Heavyweight title for the third time by beating Leon Spinks in their rematch , the rematch between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran and the Wilfredo Gomez - Lupe Pintor , Thomas Hearns - Wilfred Benitez doubleheader . Stadium history . Planning . Sports visionary David Dixon ( who decades later founded the United States Football League ) 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 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 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 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 . 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 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 the stadium skyrocketed to $ 165 million . Early history . The New Orleans Saints opened the 1975 NFL season at the Superdome , losing 21 – 0 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first regular - season game in the facility . Tulane Stadium was condemned for destruction on the day the Superdome opened , although the original concrete sections stood on the Tulane University campus until November 1979 . 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 by Monsanto specifically for the Superdome and was named " Mardi Grass . " 20th century special events . In boxing , Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks , in Ali ' s last professional win , in front of a crowd of 65 , 000 in 1978 . A 1981 Rolling Stones concert attracted more than 87 , 500 spectators , with attendees filling the floor area as well as the regular seating sections . Pope John Paul II addressed 80 , 000 children at the stadium in 1987 . The Republican National Convention was held there in 1988 . Metallica and Guns N ' Roses brought the Guns N ' Roses / Metallica Stadium Tour to the Superdome on August 29 , 1992 , with Faith No More as their opening act . In June 1996 , " The Hunchback of Notre Dame " , Disney ' s 34th animated feature , had a gala world premiere at this stadium , with over 65 , 000 people attending the event . 2000s . The Superdome converted its artificial grass surface to Field Turf midway through the 2003 football season on November 16 . As part of the major renovation for the 2010 football season the Superdome installed UBU Sports Speed S5 - M synthetic turf system . Effect of Hurricane Katrina . The Superdome was used as a " shelter of last resort " for those in New Orleans unable to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina when it struck in late August 2005 . During the storm , a large section of 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 . Reopening after Katrina . 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 & Expedition District refinanced a bond package to secure $ 41 million and 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 Sunday ( 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 Monday night , September 25 , 2006 . The reopening of 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 the rock bands U2 and Green Day performing a cover of The Skids ' " The Saints Are Coming " , and a coin toss conducted by former President George H . 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 a successful season reaching their first ever NFC Championship Game . The first bowl game played in the Superdome after Katrina was the New Orleans Bowl won by the Troy University Trojans 41 – 17 over the Rice University Owls . Renovations . In early 2006 , the Superdome began a $ 320 million renovation in three phases . First , the stadium was repaired and refurbished from damage suffered during Hurricane Katrina . In 2008 , new windows were installed to bring natural light into the building . The roof - facing of the Superdome was remodeled with a solid white hue . Between 2009 and 2010 , the entire outer layer of the stadium , more than of aluminum siding , was replaced with new aluminum panels and insulation , returning the building to its original champagne bronze color . An innovative barrier system for drainage was added . The dome now resembles its original facade . In addition , escalator s were added to the outside of the club rooms . Each suite has 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 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 of the Speed S5 - M synthetic turf system by UBU Sports , the Superdome now has 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 lead from Champions Square to 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 was completed . New 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 . The 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 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 . Now that all three phases of the renovation are complete , the Superdome is one of the most up - to - date facilities in the U . S . Naming rights . The Superdome had not taken on corporate naming rights , until Mercedes - Benz acquired the rights in 2011 . Though the stadium is owned by the state of Louisiana , the New Orleans Saints ' lease gives the team the authority to sell the rights . Saints owner Tom Benson also owns Mercedes - Benz dealerships in New Orleans and San Antonio , Texas .