Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome. The National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints professional American football team were unable to play any home games at the Superdome for the entire 2005 NFL regular season as a result. The stadium was also used to temporarily house victims of the storm. In April 2005, Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, halted lease negotiations with the state of Louisiana until after the completion of the 2005
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints officials were only doing what any city seeking a franchise would do—recruit the franchise. 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