NEW ORLEAINS – The Saints and Caesars Entertainment Inc. have inked a 20-year deal that gives the Reno, Nevada-based casino operator exclusive naming rights to the Superdome, as well as greatly expanding the partnership between the two organizations with the aim of bringing more big sporting events and entertainment acts to New Orleans.
The terms of the deal are not being made public, though the state budget committee last week put the overall value at $138 million. The money will be paid directly to the Saints under the terms of their 2009 contract with the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, known as the Superdome Commission, which has oversight of the state-owned property.
Caesars and Saints executives said the scope of their partnership agreement goes beyond the naming rights deal. They said the plan is for additional joint investments that will use Caesars’ leverage in the entertainment and sporting world to bring more events to the Superdome, as well as to enhance Champions Square as a venue.
“This will be their building for the next 20 years at least, so a big part of the discussion has been about how do we get some of the world class entertainment they have,” said Dennis Lauscha, Saints president. “How do we get some of the big boxing matches into New Orleans? How do we develop Champions Square to take it to another level from an entertainment standpoint? Those are really big investments that we’re talking to them about making jointly.”
The deal was the culmination of a four-year search by the Saints for a replacement for Mercedes-Benz, whose name has adorned the building since 2011, when it became the first naming rights sponsor for the 51-year-old stadium. The new deal, which works out at about $6.9 million a year, is a significant improvement on the $50 million to $60 million that Mercedes-Benz was reportedly paying.
Lauscha said there had been a handful of potential alternative sponsors. He declined to name the companies but said they included a major consumer goods brand, a financial services firm, a travel company and a well-known technology concern.
The current renovation includes the addition of 12 new field level luxury suite. Under the terms of the new deal, Caesars will own one of those suites and it will upgrade the two 400-level suites it already owns to mid-field suites.
The deal is the first explicit name rights deal between an NFL franchise and a major casino operator, a result of a steady easing of restrictions on gambling-related sponsorship by the football league.
