Saints, New Orleans Mayor Agree to Plan to Start Allowing Fans at Superdome

The New Orleans Saints announced Tuesday that New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has agreed to a "phased and deliberate pilot approach" to having fans attend games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome starting this weekend against the Carolina Panthers.

Per that report, "season-ticket holders will have access to 3,000 tickets."

The plan will be to gradually increase attendance in coming weeks, "barring any change in local health and safety guidelines," according to the team:

• 6,000 fans: Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco 49ers and Nov. 22 vs. Atlanta Falcons.
• 15,000 fans: Dec. 20 vs. Kansas City Chiefs and Dec. 25 vs. Minnesota Vikings.

The announcement comes after the Saints were "locked in a public battle with Cantrell for weeks over whether the team should be allowed to fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to 25 percent capacity for games, a stalemate that escalated to the point where team officials said they might play in LSU's Tiger Stadium if Cantrell wouldn't relent," per Amie Just and Sam Karlin of NOLA.com. 

It would appear the sides came to something of a compromise, with 15,000 fans representing around 20 percent of the stadium's nearly 75,000-fan capacity. 

It's a far cry from what the team reportedly was hoping for behind closed doors, however, with Just reporting the team had lobbied Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to have nearly 24,000 fans at home games. Edwards did not agree to the proposal. 

The Saints quickly became the center of a political battle, with Cantrell arguing the police, fire and EMS resources needed during Saints games would require a larger portion of the federal money the state received to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as the city's normally thriving tourism economy has been hit hard this year. 

"For the city of New Orleans to even host [a football game at 25 percent stadium capacity] on Sept. 27, it kind of goes back to the city of New Orleans needing her fair share of state resources," she said in September.