Count New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton as being in favor of moving home games to LSU’s Tiger Stadium during this odd, COVID-19-impacted NFL season.
The Saints are in the process of negotiating with LSU about a temporary move out of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome; New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has not approved them to host the Superdome at partial capacity on game days due to the public health crisis.
That’s not unusual. Less than half of the NFL has been granted that opportunity, and none of those teams play in a dome. The Saints have found enough evidence and made enough plans to think they can host a crowd of thousands safely, and they’re willing to take their show on the road if the mayor’s office won’t give them a green light to proceed in New Orleans.
And Payton is on board with that contingency plan. He spoke about the possibility in a Wednesday conference call, saying: “If it was playing (home games) in the Dome with no fans or up there with 25,000 of our fans, then every one of us would make the second choice.”
“We would embrace it,” he added, noting that it “would be exciting” to play at Tiger Stadium’s open-air arena. Other challenges on his mind are the logistics of driving an hour-plus up to Baton Rouge, La., and playing on a grass field rather than the Superdome turf.
We’ll see what happens. Talks with LSU could fall apart, or the NFL could nix them (the league has been notified of meetings thus far). The mayor’s office could relent. Whatever the case, the Saints are clearly eager to play in front of a live audience again, despite the risks surrounding COVID-19.
