The New Orleans Saints are displaced in Dallas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, and they'll be hitting the road again for their "home" opener against the Green Bay Packers.
The NFL announced the game will be played at TIAA Bank Field, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The news was first reported by NOLA.com. The Jaguars will be headed the opposite direction, scheduled to open their season against the Houston Texans.
The game will be played in its original time slot at 3:25 p.m. (central) and will be broadcast on FOX. Details on how to purchase tickets and answers to some other logistical questions will be revealed soon.
"The decision was made, in consultation with state and local officials and both clubs, in the interest of public safety," read the NFL's announcement.
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The news comes shortly after Saints GM Mickey Loomis addressed the media Wednesday morning, saying he was hopeful to learn at some point that day where the team would be headed. He said the team will be making an announcement at some point Wednesday regarding their practice plans and other immediate logistical choices.
The Saints officially announced the location change shortly after the NFL, adding that season-ticket holders will get priority access to tickets for the game. ASM International manages both TIAA Bank Field and the Caesars Superdome.
"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," said Saints owner Gayle Benson in the team's statement. "Collectively, we have a monumental task ahead of us in cleaning up the after effects left by Hurricane Ida, but it has been inspiring to see people getting right to work and starting the process."
The statement adds that the team hopes it will be able to return to the Superdome for "the balance of its home games" throughout the 2021 season if it is feasible to do so.
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding their imminent schedule, Loomis said the morale among the team remains high. The Saints GM is no stranger to such an evacuation, having gone through a similar situation after Hurricane Katrina, though that's not true for any of the current players.
"One thing that happens when you have these types of adversities is you can get really focused," Loomis said.
The team has been staying at a Dallas hotel after evacuating ahead of Hurricane Ida, which has left much of South Louisiana without power and made hosting a game at the Caesars Superdome by Sept. 12 highly unlikely.
The Saints will reportedly share TCU's facility in Fort Worth for its day-to-day operations, with SMU and the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium serving as backups. Check back for updates.
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While traveling for a home game is far from optimal, Loomis said he expects the team to operate the same as it would for a road week so far as its daily schedule is concerned. The team has road games in Week 2 (at Patriots) and Week 3 (at Panthers). It's next scheduled home game would be in Week 4 against the New York Giants, at which point its feasible the city could potentially be ready to host games if enough power is restored to the area.
"We plan on playing a lot of games at home in the Superdome this year and that's what we expect to do," Loomis said.