The New Orleans Saints will play their season opener in Jacksonville after being displaced by Hurricane Ida.
Instead of playing in the Superdome for the Sept. 12 opener against the Green Bay Packers, the Saints will host the game at the home of the Jaguars, the NFL announced Wednesday.
While the Superdome appears to have been spared significant damage from the powerful Category 4 hurricane, there are logistical challenges with staffing an NFL game there in the near future because of the widespread damage in the New Orleans area.
“I am proud of the collective communications that occurred between many entities in a short amount of time that led to us making this decision,” said Saints owner Gayle Benson. “It is never easy to make a decision that involves not playing a Saints home game in the Caesars Superdome, but I am confident that this is the right decision for our city at this juncture.”
The Saints evacuated before the storm to North Texas, and have practiced this week at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. They are remaining in Texas for workouts next week, and will travel to Jacksonville the day before the season opener.
