Honoring Superdome Hero May Cost Louisiana More Than Money

There’s a brand new Battle of New Orleans brewing over a tribute for the man who helped create the Louisiana Superdome. And before it’s over, this one could cost the state millions of dollars and perhaps its NFL team, as well.

The Superdome, host to Super Bowls, Final Fours, national title football games and even the GOP when it nominated George Bush, is embroiled in controversy over a name change.

The state legislature voted to rename the Superdome for former Gov. John J. McKeithen, who used his enormous popularity to push through a then-unpopular project. But what seemed like a simple idea has turned complicated.

“It will at the least limit our possibilities,” said Superdome general manager Doug Thornton. “Once you put a name on the building, you have to realize you aren’t going to be taking it off later and putting on another one. And if it’s used to honor someone, there isn’t any money attached to it.”

But lawmakers tagged the name demand onto a bill that also limits the power of Gov. Mike Foster in signing any new contracts with the Saints or any other NFL team. He probably will veto the bill but has given his word to the McKeithen family that the stadium would be renamed after the late governor.

The domed stadium commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, is split on the issue.

McKeithen, who died June 4 at 81, persuaded voters in the conservative central and northern parts of the state that the Superdome would not be the boondoggle many predicted.

“When I described it to him, he said, ‘My God, this will be the greatest building ever built,”’ said Dave Dixon, the New Orleans businessman who dreamed up the Dome. “Without his work, it would never have been built.”

Although everyone acknowledges McKeithen’s role in the Dome and getting an NFL team, renaming the building for him causes a financial problem for the Saints and bothers some commission members.

The naming rights for the Superdome could be worth $3 million to $5 million a year, according to E.J. Narcese, vice president of ISI/SFX, a team and venue marketing company in New Jersey that works with NFL, NBA and major league teams.

“Because New Orleans is fortunate enough to be in the Super Bowl rotation, and only four or five cities are in that arena regularly, it’s unique,” Narcese said. “If you guarantee that kind of national and international exposure every few years, that’s a tremendous advantage. It makes the name you attach to the building very valuable.”

And with that kind of money at stake, many are advising the governor to veto the bill and find another way to honor the late governor.

“It’s all a matter of money,” said Superdome commission chairman David Conroy. “It’s inappropriate to go into the project saying you would temporarily name if after Governor McKeithen. But the Saints have made it clear that they will be looking to make some adjustments in their lease and I dare say they are looking at selling the naming rights and participating in that income.”

In fact, Saints owner Tom Benson told the commission last month that revenue sources such as the sale of naming rights is essential to keeping the franchise competitive.

The Saints raised ticket prices this year and have hinted that they need more financial incentives to their lease.

Team officials also scheduled a series of meetings with business and political leaders to demonstrate how the Saints finances compare with those of other teams in the league.

“We’ve met with the Saints and while they may be making a profit now, to keep doing that in the future will take more money,” said William Metcalf, chairman of the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Saints have not released their financial figures, and although a recent Forbes analysis showed the Saints with the 12th-highest revenue in the league and fourth-highest operating profit, the team maintains they ranked 21 out of 31 NFL teams in total revenue in 1997.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who met with Foster and Mayor Marc Morial last summer to discuss difficulties faced by small market teams, said that without sufficient earnings the Saints would suffer competitively.

The Saints’ lease with the Dome runs until 2018 but does have an escape clause. Speculation is that Benson, who claims San Antonio as a second home, could be persuaded to claim hardship and move the team, either to that city or Houston.

“These days, teams control everything,” Narcese said. “They are no longer just tenants. For one thing, they must be willing and eager participants for the naming rights to retain value. They’re what’s going to deliver a television market. They’re where announcers are going to be saying the building name.

“If the Saints were to turn their backs on the deal, it would lose value quickly. They are the real product. If they were to leave the Dome, the value of the naming rights would be cut by at least two-thirds.”

Suggestions for alternative ways to honor McKeithen have ranged from renaming the street outside the Dome to erecting a statue of him in front and hanging a banner inside.

“I don’t find that acceptable,” said McKeithen’s son, Fox McKeithen, the Louisiana Secretary of State, who noted that the Legislature was almost unanimous in naming the building after his father.