Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29 , 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome , the New Orleans Saints were not able to play any home games there for the entire 2005 NFL season ( the stadium was also used to temporarily house victims of the storm ) . After practicing for approximately a week in San Jose , California , where they had evacuated in conjunction with a pre - season game against the Oakland Raiders , the team set up temporary headquarters and arranged for practice facilities in San Antonio , Texas , where owner Tom Benson started his car dealership empire . The league then announced that although the Saints ' first home game on September 18 against the New York Giants would be played at Giants Stadium at 7 : 30 p . m . EDT on September 19 , other home games would be split between Tiger Stadium at LSU in Baton Rouge , Louisiana ( 80 miles / 130 km from New Orleans ) , and the Alamodome in San Antonio ( 540 miles / 869 km from New Orleans ) ; offices and practice would remain in San Antonio throughout the season . Various media reports in the San Antonio Express - News indicated the owner and government officials in San Antonio were working behind the scenes concerning a possible permanent relocation to San Antonio . San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger had pushed a strong verbal campaign to pursue the Saints . Other officials , including Texas Governor Rick Perry , had indicated that they would also support a relocation to San Antonio , including using funding to upgrade the Alamodome , or possibly build a new stadium . Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones , whose team currently has San Antonio as part of its territorial rights , also supported an NFL team moving to San Antonio . However , the NFL and commissioner Paul Tagliabue were both in favor of keeping the franchise in New Orleans or at least delaying a decision on a potential relocation . Other rumors of the period said that the NFL preferred to move the team to Los Angeles , or even to expand to Toronto instead , as both cities are over twice the size of San Antonio . Many fans in Louisiana were angered and felt that Hardberger and Perry were taking advantage of New Orleans ' misfortunes to try to steal the Saints . Benson ' s actions also drew the anger of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin , who called Benson ' s actions shameful and disrespectful to New Orleans fans who have supported the team for nearly four decades of mostly losing seasons . San Antonio officials , on the other hand , countered that Benson may have no choice — at the time , it was thought by some that New Orleans might never fully recover as a viable location for an NFL franchise , and that they were simply giving the franchise an option to relocate and remain economically viable , in this case to a city in which Benson already lives and has business interests . Benson indicated in his open letter to the Gulf Coast that San Antonio officials were only doing what any city seeking a franchise would do — recruit the franchise . Prospective relocation controversy . On October 21 , 2005 , Benson issued a statement saying that he had not made any decision about the future of the Saints . However , the " San Antonio Express - News " reported that sources close to the Saints ' organization said that Benson planned to void his lease agreement with New Orleans by declaring the Louisiana Superdome unusable . NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue met with Benson and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco at the Saints ' first home game in Baton Rouge on October 30 against the Miami Dolphins . After the meeting , he stopped just short of making a formal commitment to keep the Saints in New Orleans . Said Tagliabue : " The Saints are Louisiana ' s team and have been since the late ' 60s when my predecessor Pete Rozelle welcomed them to the league as New Orleans ' team and Louisiana ' s team . Our focus continues to be on having the Saints in Louisiana . " He dispelled rumors that had the Saints relocating to Los Angeles . Tagliabue appointed an eight - owner advisory committee to help decide the team ' s future . Benson left the game with five minutes left in the fourth quarter . A WWL - TV camera crew recorded him leaving the stadium . Benson angrily pushed the camera away and then got into an argument with a fan . Video of the altercation was obtained by WWL - TV . Three days later , Benson issued a statement that he would no longer go to Baton Rouge for Saints home games because he felt he and his family were in danger from abuse at the game . The following day , Benson agreed with Louisiana state officials to extend his opt out clause with the Superdome and Louisiana because of the disaster until January 2007 . In the midst of the Katrina relocation controversy , several groups of investors approached Benson with offers to buy the team and keep them in Louisiana , the most notable group being one led by Fox Sports analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw , who is a Louisiana native . However , Benson expressed that he had no intention of selling the team and planned to eventually hand down ownership to his granddaughter , Saints owner / executive Rita Benson LeBlanc . Benson spoke to press following an NFL owners ' meeting on November 15 , during which he reiterated that the team is not for sale , but also stated that other NFL owners , along with Tagliabue , were working with him to keep the team in New Orleans . On December 5 , Tagliabue met with Benson and New Orleans officials to tour the city and assess the viability of playing in New Orleans in 2006 . On January 11 , 2006 , at a press conference in New Orleans , Tagliabue announced that the Saints would likely play all eight home games at the Superdome . Superdome officials said January 12 that the Dome would be ready by September 1 , 2006 . The NFL announced on February 5 , 2006 , that the Superdome would reopen on September 24 when the Saints were to host the Atlanta Falcons . Tagliabue said the team ' s preseason games would likely be played elsewhere in the region . He also stated that the Saints and the NFL were committed to New Orleans for the long haul . Starting in the fall of 2006 , the Saints returned to playing all of their regular home games of the 2006 season in New Orleans at the Superdome . The Saints won the division that year and made it to their first NFC Championship Game , where they lost to the Chicago Bears . Three years later , the Saints finished 13 - 3 and won Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts . Their Super Bowl victory is seen as a major success story for New Orleans post - Katrina . In April 2009 , the franchise reached a deal that would keep the Saints in New Orleans until at least 2025 .