Saints-Bucs sticking to schedule

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Sep 3, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The New Orleans Saints will play their regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as scheduled at noon Sunday in the Superdome, team owner Tom Benson and Superdome officials announced Tuesday.

Benson made the announcement from Indianapolis, where the Saints relocated last Saturday in advance of Hurricane Gustav.

The storm came ashore in south Louisiana on Monday morning, sparing the city and Superdome the damage and flooding Hurricane Katrina brought three years earlier.

“There were a number of critical issues that needed to be addressed before we could make this announcement,” Benson said in a statement from the team. “We’ve been assured by Superdome officials the stadium is ready to host our fans and our team for a sold-out game this Sunday, and we have been assured by our political leaders that we have their support in making this happen.”

While the Superdome received little damage from the storm, there were initial concerns the game could be played as scheduled.

One option would have been to switch the game with the Bucs, one of the Saints’ NFC South rivals, with a Nov. 30 game set for Tampa.

However, the team worked with state, local and Superdome officials to make sure the stadium was available and safe and ready to host the game. Also, the team had to work within guidelines set by state and local officials on when residents can return to their homes.

“Our No. 1 priority was making sure the people of our community were safe during the storm and are now able to return safely,” Benson said. “There is a critical re-entry process that we all must follow and we must do that as efficiently as possible.”

“We are happy to report the Superdome sustained only minimal damage from Hurricane Gustav, primarily to exterior marquees,” said Doug Thornton, the regional vice president of SMG, the company that manages the Superdome. “It takes significant resources to run the Dome for a Saints game and we’re pleased our employees, subcontractors and suppliers will all be available when the doors open Sunday.”

Switching home dates was not something Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis wanted. If the game had been switched, the Saints would have opened the season with three straight road games at Tampa Bay, Washington (Sept. 14) and Denver (Sept. 21).

Loomis said Monday after getting a favorable initial report from Thornton and Superdome officials that the Saints wanted to be back for something other than getting a jump on the Bucs.

“We want to be one of the first ones back because we want to play that game and lift the spirits of our city after what’s been a tough week,” he said during a news conference at an Indianapolis hotel.

Loomis said players, coaches and staff reported no injuries among their family members after the storm.