Saints Practice Facility Renovations Look To Be Completed By November

The Saints practice facility renovations look to be completed by November 2024, but Team President Dennis Lauscha hopes it can be done by September. We got to take a tour of the facility on Saturday afternoon and speak to the main figures in charge, which included Lauscha, Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Ed Lang and Maureen Clary of Corporate Realty.

“We’re doing this because we truly do want to have the best football facilities,” Lauscha said during a press conference.

Lauscha mentioned that he and owner Gayle Benson traveled to various facilities and worked with Gensler and Woodward Design Group to help come up with the architecture and conceptual designs. Here's a rundown of what all is being done right now in Metairie and what has been completed.

Saints Practice Facility Renovations Highlights

• Project cost is $12 million. The Saints have invested $250 million between this project and the Superdome renovations. Speaking of the Dome, the team's locker rooms will be doubled.
• The renovations project was planned in 2019, which included the cafeteria. COVID and the price of steel prevented the team from starting earlier. The Pelicans are undergoing a similar renovation project as well.
• There will be a new dining patio space installed, as well as an indoor viewing deck to observe practice on the second floor. There is also a new feature that allows the window to be tinted in case the Saints do not want anyone to view practice.
• The cafeteria building is growing from 6,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet. That includes a kitchen that will go from 1,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet. The full-serviced kitchen will allow the team to help better cater to specific player needs.
• New Orleans constructed a new draft war room and refurbished the weight room. The weight room includes a new office for Director of Sports Science Matt Rhea where he can meet with players one-on-one, and also has a built-in area for nutritionists to help facilitate player needs. There's also many new technological advances and enhancements.
• The cafeteria building is growing from 6,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet. That includes a kitchen that will go from 1,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet.
• There will be permanent bleachers for fans and areas that will help battle the heat for future training camps.

There was some belief that OTAs and mandatory minicamp could be held elsewhere due to the renovations, but it sounds like it'll still be at the facility, but the construction work will make it challenging for fans to attend.

The move to California for training camp is only expected to be for this year, and the team is working with the league to hopefully have fans be able to attend, but space is also a challenge. Dennis Lauscha mentioned that the NFL’s limitations on attendance at camp in competing markets may have more to do with sponsors than fans.