OK missie, I have a bone to pick with you. Ever since you posted my jack-o-lantern, I can't read your blog at work!

As for the Superdome, I understand that sports build revenue for a town, but damn.. there are real people- GOOD people (cuz you can ask my unclie-in-law..the crack heads stayed and moved into all of the abandoned houses) who want to go back home and can't. Our society has an F'd up way of thinking :(

I was wondering the same damn thing...

I am sure as heck ready for these folks to go back. Houston was already overpopulated with terrible traffic and overcrowded schools. With folks dragging their feet over in LA, these folks are never leaving Texas.

You are cracking me up! I agree- 185 mil- I think that would have rehoused a few evacuees..

OK, I thought all night about whether to respond, because I am the least confrontational person you'll meet. First, let me say that all of your points are valid and warrant thought. I just want to present the other side, as a huge Saints fan, and wife of a New Orleans native. One whole side of my family is there. We watched the game with tears in our eyes, and of course quite a bit of hollering at the Falcons' upset! I don't represent everyone. SFG is more likely to take the other side, I expect.

First, although a football team may seem like an extravagance, the Saints are a New Orleans institution, the likes of which are vital to preserving the city's spirit and sense of hope for the future.

The devastation of the Superdome was a huge glaring symbol of the disaster that was the response (or lack thereof) to Katrina and its victims. Restoring it to better than its original state is another symbol of hope.

The Superdome was not rebuit for one game. It was rebuilt for a lifetime of Saints games. And for countless basketball games, concerts, conventions, school band competitions. The list of opportunities to use the Superdome for REVENUE GENERATING events is only limited by the imagination and its available dates.

$185 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what needs to be spent to even begin to revitalize New Orleans East, and the entire Gulf Coast throughout Mississippi and into Alabama. This is one of many baby steps.

$185 million is also a drop in the bucket compared to the revenue that will be generated by the Superdome. Before it was even open, the Saints sold out their season tickets for the first time since 1967. I haven't been able to locate the exact number that was generated; however, I did find that they sold just under 55,000 season tickets, at $112-$1400 a pop, generating somewhere between $6 Million and $75 Million. Four months before the opening game, and four months prior to any merchandise and concession sales.

I also can't find the number of jobs that were provided by the Superdome's reopening, but I assume the number is in the hundreds if not a thousand.

Much love, and thanks for letting me say my side!

-Amy