The final two phases of the 450-million dollar renovation of the Superdome have gone out to bid.
The massive undertaking to refresh and improve upon the 50-year old structure, an icon of New Orleans known around the world, is progressing ahead.
Its prime building season for the dome as usual events held there are on hold for the time being and interior work all over the facility is back underway.
Voice of the Saints, Mike Hoss spoke with WWL about the on-going work and what it means for the region.
"We fit the renovations into the off seasons as we're doing now, we're in a renovation phase and we have Essence Festival coming up this summer and also because we have a little bit of a window, the monster truck rally as well. Then this fall we'll have Beyoncé of course during the Saints season here at Caesars Superdome."
The planned renovations will wrap up ahead of the 2024 Saints football season.
And while that seems like plenty of time to complete the project, it's really a choreographed, fine tuned schedule of deconstruction of certain elements of the interior structure and replacement with new construction.
"Once the Saints' season ends in the off-season, which will be 2023, we'll go right back into the renovation and we always stop for Essence as we will in '23 and '24. To keep that long term partnership moving."
If all goes as planned the 450-million renovation plan will push through its final two of five phases over two years to be finished in time for the Super Bowl 2025.
"By the start of the 2024 Saints football season, we hope to be as done as we can be. Will it be completely finished? Probably not; but the NFL would like us to be as done as possible by the 2024 Saints season because the 2025 Super Bowl comes right after that, that is that season."
Hoss describes the last two phases of the build out as divided into 32 Divisions of projects involving a majority of final finishing of the renovations and installations of interior fixtures and final construction items.
"As soon as they can, believe me, and the renovations are completed we can't wait to get our long term partners like Endymion and some of the floor shows back into our building because those are the events that don't go to the Smoothie King Center or Champion Square.