Kudos To... Saint Kathleen?
(excerpt)

THE HAYRIDE

In today’s Lafayette Advertiser sports section is a curious article ascribing credit for New Orleans’ Super Bowl jubilation to an unusual source. Namely, former Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco.

The piece, written by Advertiser sportswriter Brady Aymond, takes the position that Blanco’s decision to rebuild the Superdome rather than build a new stadium played a part in the celebration of the Saints’ earning a Super Bowl trip with last night’s 31-28 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

But the fact is, as a description of reality it’s difficult to apply too much credit to the former governor for the rebuilding of the Superdome. Yes, Blanco made the right decision to rebuild the venerable sports arena, and the renovated Superdome is a fabulous facility once again. From a simple financial standpoint, rebuilding the Dome rather than starting over with a new stadium was a no-brainer. Estimates of the costs of building a new stadium ranged anywhere from $450 million to $700 million at the time, while in rebuilding the Superdome the state’s cost exposure was almost nil.