Saints behind on payments for share of Caesars Superdome renovations, commission says

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The New Orleans Saints have fallen more than $11 million behind on payments for the team’s share of renovations to Caesars Superdome, according to the commission that manages the stadium.

The Saints have not paid three consecutive invoices -- from January, February and March -- totaling $11.4 million, board members of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition district (LSED) were told by staff at a meeting on Wednesday (May 22).

More invoices are on the way, the LSED said. The Saints are responsible for $41 million of the estimated $58 million in work that remains on a renovation project that started in 2020 and will cost more than $500 million before completion.

The Saints issued a statement saying “it was disappointing to hear the comments coming out of the LSED meeting today that the team is not acting in good faith, when, in fact, we feel the opposite is true.”

The NFL franchise said it had “no issue” with making the overdue payment “or, for that matter, the remaining balance,” but that it had “asked for certain documentation” that it still had not received.

The LSED responded Wednesday night (May 22) to the Saints statement saying it doesn’t understand what documentation the Saints were referring to. The LSED went on to say since the project’s start five years ago, it’s provided all documentation required for production under the Project Development Agreement, as well as detailed documentation related to construction invoices, pay requests, change orders and other project-related expenses.

The LSED said the process has never changed, and the Saints have never disputed an invoice or requested additional documentation related to a pay request.

“Therefore, would be helpful to the process if the Saints were more specific and identified what ‘documentation’ they are referencing. To the extent that the ‘documentation’ may relate to efforts to further extend the Saints’ lease for the Superdome, that is a completely separate and independent agreement that the Saints extended for five (5) years last December. There is no legal basis to withhold payments under the Superdome Renovation Project Development Agreement based on efforts to negotiate a longer-term extension,” said Mike Hoss, manager of media relations for the LSED.

The commission said the Saints are obligated to pay one-third of the renovation costs. The State of Louisiana is contributing $54 million, and the LSED will finance the remainder—more than $300 million—through bond financing.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the board expressed concern that the Saints had not explained why they had not made a payment since December and warned that further inaction could delay the project’s delicate timeline. The renovations were promised to be complete before the stadium stages Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025.

The announcement came just hours before New Orleans & Company held a panel discussion drumming up excitement about being the host city of next year’s Super Bowl.

Kim Boyle, Attorney and Partner at Phelps Dunbar and Super Bowl LIX Supplier Diversity Chair led the conversation on Wednesday evening’s (May 22) panel.

She was joined by Jay Cicero, President/CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation/Super Bowl LIX Host Committee, Marcus Brown, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Entergy Corporation and chair of the Super Bowl LIX Host Committee, and Michelle Gobert, Founder of Transmedia and Super Bowl Veteran.

Brown reacted to the news of payment issues.

“In the process of doing a half-billion-dollar renovation, you can have things like that popup, but the state, the city and the saints are all going to be aligned to make sure this event goes off without a hitch,” Brown said.

Cicero said opening up the concourse, allowing for more entryways and concession areas, is fantastic. He’s excited the NFL is narrowing down the list of vendors as New Orleans gears up to host its 11th Super Bowl.

“The Super Bowl and New Orleans are really synonymous,” said Cicero. “Record tying of Super Bowl. We have an incredible history. 55 years of hosting the Superbowl.”

Brown assured Fox 8 there won’t be another power problem in the middle of the Super Bowl.

“We’ve had a decade of Saints games since 2013. That’s ten seasons. We’ve had national championship games. We’ve had all kinds of events in that stadium, so we’ve had more than enough opportunity to refine and double check and redundancies associated with that. We’re going to be ready. We’re born to do this,” Brown said.

A spokesperson for the LSED said new transformers aimed at supporting cell service are going in at the Superdome along West Stadium Drive just off Claiborne. They said Entergy is running electrical feeders to the new Verizon and T-Mobile data centers, adding to AT&T’s existing dedicated Entergy circuits. These will power the new cellular wireless system being installed in the Superdome and Smoothie King Center, which should be ready for the upcoming football season.

Fox 8 was told that cell phone companies are also upgrading their Wi-Fi and purchasing new antennas for their wireless systems.

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