Saints Should Be Able to Host Week 4 Contest Against Giants at Superdome, Mayor Says

The New Orleans Saints may be able to resume hosting games at the Caesars Superdome as soon as Week 4, mayor LaToya Cantrell said Wednesday: 

The Saints are slated to host the New York Giants on October 3 in New Orleans but will relocate the game if necessary as cleanup efforts from Hurricane Ida continue throughout the region. 

New Orleans was supposed to open the season at the Superdome this weekend against the Green Bay Packers. Instead that game will be played at Jacksonville's TIAA Bank Field—a decision the team reportedly made, in part, because of how difficult it is for Green Bay fans to travel to the Florida city, per NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan.

The Saints have back-to-back road matches in Weeks 2 and 3. They visit the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 19 followed by the New England Patriots on Sept. 26. 

With nearly a full month before Week 4 rolls around, the Saints should have plenty of time to build out contingency plans should the Superdome remain unusable. 

Per Duncan, those plans should be relatively easy to put together, considering the NFL maintains a list of alternate sites teams can use in case of emergencies. Following Ida, for instance, the Saints were able to choose from a list including AT&T Stadium, Raymond James Stadium and TIAA Bank Field. 

It's unclear which stadiums are currently available for contingency use during Week 4. 

If the Saints are forced to go that route again, they will have a bit of time before returning to New Orleans. The team plays Week 5 at the Washington Football Team, has a bye week immediately after, then travels to face the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 25 in Week 7.

In that scenario, the Saints would officially open their home stadium in Week 8 against division rival and reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Halloween.