Will the Saints play Week 1 in New Orleans? Hurricane Ida may impact Saints-Packers season opener
Exactly 16 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana, Hurricane Ida took a similar path, with its eyes on the New Orleans metropolitan area and beyond. With the City of New Orleans currently without power for the unforeseen future, the New Orleans Saints' home opener against the Green Bay Packers at the Caesars Superdome may be in jeopardy.
Where will the New Orleans Saints host their Week 1 opener against the Green Bay Packers?
With Hurricane Ida approaching, the New Orleans Saints' preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals was canceled for this past Saturday evening. The Saints were then moved to Dallas to practice and stay out of harm's way due to the storm.
The plan, according to New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, is for the team to stay in Dallas for at least the beginning of this week. The Saints are practicing at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys stadium. As of right now, Payton believes there isn't a way for the Saints to be able to practice at the Saints facility next week.
The City of New Orleans is currently dealing with power and water outages, It will clearly take time to restore power and water service to the area and when it is returned residential services are sure to be the first restored. The Superdome won't be the first location to have service restored.
Where the team will practice is unclear, but the Cowboys will be traveling to Tampa for a Week 1 matchup against the Buccaneers so AT&T Stadium would be open for the Saints to practice. It could also be used as a location for Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers.
The general manager of the Superdome, Doug Thornton, says that the stadium should be open and ready for the Saints/Packers game as long as power and water are turned on.
The New Orleans Saints named Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback in a new chapter after the retirement of Drew Bress this offseason.
The Saints are anxiously awaiting the Week 1 matchup against reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. Whether it will be played at the Superdome is unknown as of right now, but if it can't be played in New Orleans, it's likely that the game will be played at a neutral site for the fairness of both teams.