Louisiana lawmakers recently approved a 20-year agreement between the New Orleans Saints and Caesars Entertainment Inc., giving Caesars naming rights to the Superdome. The deal is estimated to be worth $138 million.
The Saints organization had been looking for a sponsor to succeed Mercedes-Benz, which bought the Superdome naming rights in 2011 in a 10-year deal that reportedly cost it $50 million to $60 million. That agreement ended July 15.
Observers said workers already have removed the silver letters of the carmaker’s name and have begun stripping its logo from the Superdome roof. Mercedes-Benz officials said the German automaker decided not to renew its Superdome sponsorship due to its increasing commitment to Atlanta, Georgia. The company moved its North American headquarters there and already has the naming rights to the Atlanta Falcons’ home stadium.
The naming-rights cash will be spent on renovations and upkeep of the iconic domed stadium, said ASM Global Director of Business Operations Evan Holmes. ASM manages the state-owned Superdome and other facilities in the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District.
The New Orleans Saints will be the first NFL team to play in a stadium named for a casino operator. Hard Rock, which holds naming rights to the home venue of the Miami Dolphins, wasn’t allowed to make any gambling references when its agreement was made in 2016. Other major professional sports venues affiliated with casinos are the National Hockey League’s Gila River Arena, home of the Arizona Coyotes, and the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, home to the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Connecticut Sun.
Holmes said the Caesars deal won’t affect the Superdome’s ability to host amateur events like high school football championships or the NCAA’s basketball Final Four. “The building has the status that it does, and we didn’t want to risk any negative impact of that,” Holmes said.
Although the Superdome is owned by taxpayers and overseen by a state agency, Caesars signed a confidentiality agreement with the Saints to avoid putting the team at a “competitive disadvantage.” A Saints document states, “While the team wishes to be fully transparent and respects the members’ questions about the financial terms, the team asked that the financial terms remain confidential.”
Besides Saints games, the Superdome hosts about 200 events a year, including the Essence Festival, the New Orleans Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Bayou Classic football game between Southern University and Grambling State University and others. The 2025 Super Bowl is scheduled to be played in the stadium.
Saints President Dennis Lauscha said, “This will be (Caesars’) building for the next 20 years at least, so a big part of the discussion has been about how do we get some of the world class entertainment they have. How do we get some of the big boxing matches into New Orleans? How do we develop Champions Square to take it to another level from an entertainment standpoint? Those are really big investments that we’re talking to them about making jointly.”
Caesars is set to break ground this month on its planned $320 million hotel expansion at its Harrah’s casino on Canal Street. The Harrah’s brand will be changed to Caesars at some point.
Caesars President for the Gulf South region, Dan Real, said, “Nowhere else in the world are we doing as much as we’re doing in New Orleans. We’re investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the city and our goal is to have the Dome renovated and maintained in a manner where we will be able to hold our head high and go after the biggest events that there are in the world.”
Governor John Bel Edwards supported the deal. Michael Hecht, president and chief executive officer at the regional economic development organization, Greater New Orleans Inc., said the Superdome already contributes $600 million in annual economic impact to the state. He said that amount is likely to rise, since the new Caesars-Superdome partnership will produce new jobs, tax revenue and promotion of New Orleans.
