Renderings of possible renovations to the Saints' Mercedes-Benz Superdome "should be released" by the end of '18, according to Christopher Dabe of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. The Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District "unanimously approved" a $1.83M expense for New Orleans-based Trahan Architects to "produce a projected cost estimate and construction timeline for what could be a significant overhaul" of the Superdome. A "significant result" of the expenditure will be the production of "detailed renderings" that would give officials a more detailed look at what the Superdome could become. Architects will "more precisely decide what can fit" inside the 2 million square feet of space inside the Superdome. SMG Exec VP/Stadiums & Arenas Doug Thornton said that there is "some chance" officials will choose to make only limited changes to the Superdome. But he does not "think that will be the case." Nevertheless, Thornton said that the "hope is for construction to begin" soon after the CFP championship game on Jan. 13, 2020 and "completed before the city hosts" Super Bowl LVIII in '24. Thornton said that work will "need to be done incrementally" between football seasons. Thornton added that the projected construction schedule would be "similar" to the $376M renovation work done in '09-10 (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 7/27).
