New Orleans Saints in talks to move home games to Tiger Stadium

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) -The New Orleans Saints confirm Tuesday that there is a possibility that future home Saints games could be played in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

Statement from Saints VP of communications Greg Bensel one possibility of Saints playing at Tiger Stadium: pic.twitter.com/reAFLgGqOl
— Sean FazendeFOX8 (@SeanFazendeFOX8) October 13, 2020

Saints Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel released a statement saying, “We can confirm that our game operations staff is meeting with LSU officials today to discuss potentially hosting future Saints home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. LSU has been gracious and enthusiastic regarding hosting our future games and we very much appreciate their partnership.

We have also discussed the possibility of moving our home games to LSU with the NFL and they are aware of our exploring this option. Obviously, our overwhelming preference is to play our games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with partial fan attendance but there has been no indication from the city on when, or if, this might be approved.”

The Saints have not had fans in the Superdome this season. The only exception was about 750 family members of players.

East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome released the following statement Tuesday afternoon about the possibility of the Saints playing at Tiger Stadium:

"These are trying times for our state and nation. We’re making real progress here in East Baton Rouge, and I welcome the New Orleans Saints here should they choose to come.

While health precautions and quality of life don’t have to be mutually exclusive, this is not an open invitation to ignore precautions we have put in place to protect everyone.

Should they choose to come, the Saints and Saints fans will be required to adhere to the same guidelines put in place for college football games - social distancing with 25% occupancy, required masks, and no tailgating. If we all do our part, we can begin to return to normalcy.

We are all part of the Who Dat Nation, and we’re happy to welcome them to Baton Rouge."

Robert Munson, LSU athletic director, also released a statement, saying, “These are extraordinary times and we are here to help our great neighbors in any way that we can. We continue to have very productive discussions with the Saints organization and, if need be, are prepared to host the Saints in Tiger Stadium this season.”

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell defended her decision to not allow fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome right now in a tweet Tuesday afternoon.

At present, no NFL stadium in the country with a fixed-roof facility is allowing such an exception. We will continue to monitor the public health data, but cannot set an artificial timeline for how and when conditions may allow for the kind of special exemption being requested.
— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) October 13, 2020

Last week, the Saints sent a request to the city to allow fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Mayor Cantrell denied that request.

Since the return of the season, no fans have been allowed to attend games or tailgate outside.

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