The Louisiana Superdome, now known as the Crown Jewel of the Crescent City Skyline, is back in business more than a year after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.
On September 26, the iconic symbol of New Orleans put the swarm of storm-inspired depression behind it and got back to what it was built for: letting the good times roll.
“We know that the Superdome was symbolic of a lot of misery,” Gov. Kathleen Blanco said in an interview with KUTV. “It’s now a symbol of our recovery. It stands as a symbol of all of our experiences over the past year.”
The city’s 70,000-seat football stadium was designated as a public shelter before the hurricane forcing several thousand people who couldn’t evacuate the city in time to gather there on the night before Katrina made it’s way onto the Gulf Shore coastline.
After the storm passed and the city’s levee system collapsed-flooding the city with a wall of water-the number of evacuees seeking shelter in the Superdome swelled to more than 30,000 people.
By the time the last of the survivors left the Dome after Katrina’s winds ripped the roof from the arena, the mighty structure was a lasting vision of chaos and distortion for a city that had lost so much.
In the storm’s aftermath, 70 percent of the Dome’s roof had failed and 3.8 million gallons of water had to be pumped out of the Dome and its garages.
With no air conditioning, mold and mildew grew quickly and the odor inside the massive building was an overwhelming mixture of sewage from backed-up toilets and 4,000 tons of trash and debris.
According to previously published reports, many felt the Superdome should have been demolished after the hurricane. Unfortunately, building a new arena would have cost about $600 million, which was not feasible for the financially devastated state, state officials said.
The decision to repair instead of rebuild was unanimous by state leaders.
Structural and environmental experts deemed it safe and Blanco deemed it necessary for the financial rebirth of the city.
According to reports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid for $115 million worth of repairs. The state put up $13 million, as required by FEMA. The Louisiana Stadium & Expedition District refinanced a bond package used for other sports facilities in the area to secure $41 million, and the NFL contributed a $15 million grant for a total of $184 million dollars for repairs.
Now the roof and 440,000 square feet of supportive steel panels have been replaced. 500,000 square feet of ceiling tiles and 800,000 square feet of damaged wallboard are new. New score and video boards have been installed and more than 1.6 million square feet of carpet has been replaced with new flooring covers on the ramps and upper-level concourses.
Many said they see the reconstruction of the Superdome as a symbol of rebirth, breathing new life out of destruction to this once dismal metropolis. The Dome’s re-opening in September assured the return of five home games for Tulane University, The Bayou Classic, The LHSAA State Farm Superdome Classic, The New Orleans Bowl and The Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic.
Doug Thornton, general manager of the Superdome, and the driving force behind its revival, feels strongly positive about the renovation completion of the Superdome.
“If the Superdome can be rebuilt after that tremendous destruction, my house can be rebuilt, my neighborhood can be rebuilt and my city can be rebuilt former residents will say,” Thornton said. “So much of this recovery is about confidence and belief. You’ve got to want it to happen. You’ve got to believe it. This is symbolism.”
Katrina cost more than 237,000 people in the New Orleans area their jobs, according to state figures. The jobless rate jumped from 5.8 percent in August 2005 to 14.8 percent in September 2005.
Currently, hundreds of New Orleans businesses are ready to resume normal operations but it’s not water or wind damage that stands in their way. There’s no one to mind the store. New Orleans needs waiters, cooks, housekeepers, dry cleaners, paralegals, cab drivers, doctors, nurses, ship builders, oil workers and more, business owners said.
Since the re-opening of the Superdome, the number of job openings in the city has more than tripled, officials say.
Before the storm, the Louisiana Department of Labor averaged 708 job openings a month in Orleans Parish. A recent check showed postings for about 2,500 jobs. Several restaurants have reopened, with half the staff they had before.
“The hotel industry needs 4,000 to 5,000 workers immediately,” said Bill Langkopp, a representative for the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association.
According to city officials, it takes approximately 12,000 workers to serve the hotel rooms currently taking guests in New Orleans. Currently, less than 3,000 vacancies have been filled.
Businesses large and small are desperately seeking workers, and in many industries, wages are rising. There have been reportedly 92,000 job opportunities listed in the New Orleans area with an increase in hourly wages, reports state.
Don Hutchinson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, is energized about the city’s improved wages.
“Between the high demand for employees and the amount that FEMA is paying workers, the wage rate across the board is going up,” Hutchinson said. “The ultimate outcome we are looking for is that we have a much larger middle class than we’ve ever had before.”
Tim Ryan, chancellor of the University of New Orleans, said he feels the spike in wages is only a temporary change.
“Those unskilled recovery and cleanup jobs will slowly dissipate over the next few months,” Ryan said. “And more people will move back, pushing up the supply of workers.”
Despite criticism and doubt some still harbor the city’s future after the storm, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin remains optimistic about the city and its rebirth.
“We still face challenges in rebuilding our homes and businesses,” Nagin said in an October 2 interview with Associated Press journalist Michelle Roberts. “But the unifying force seen in this community is proof of what can be accomplished if we work together. I am proud to announce to the world that New Orleans is open for business.”