BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Superdome could be renamed
for a corporation willing to pay for the privilege under a bill
that received final legislative approval Thursday.
The measure goes next to Gov. Mike Foster, who has championed it
as a key portion of his plan to keep the Saints in New Orleans.
Money from the sale of the Superdome name would go to the Saints,
paid in annual installments.
The Senate agreed 34-2 to accept minor House amendments to the
bill by Sen. Ken Hollis, R-Metairie.
The NFL team could realize from $2 million to $5 million a year
by allowing a corporation to put its name on the dome.
Saints officials say the team needs more revenue to be
competitive in the NFL. The team has asked the state to pay for
most of a new $450 million football-only, retractable dome stadium
by 2006.
State officials have instead offered $75 million in Superdome
renovations while agreeing to study the prospect of building a new
stadium and finding ways to give the team more cash.
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