A Stricken City Gets Solace From Saints

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 17 -- The destruction from Hurricane Katrina is still evident in this city, and while its total rebuilding remains a far-off goal, the locals are hoping football, football fans and the NFL can play some role in its recovery. The Saints have been the league's feel-good story a season after the storm ravaged this area, clinching the NFC South title despite Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Redskins at the Superdome and bringing weekly attention to the problems here.

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu addressed the tremendous work still ahead prior to Sunday's game. He is campaigning for more federal funds and the opportunity for this stadium to host a Super Bowl in the near future despite the schedule being set years in advance and New Orleans not currently in the NFL's plans. Landrieu said local officials are trying to get the league to consider altering its Super Bowl schedule, and the surprising season the Saints have put together has helped lift spirits and rally residents at the best possible time.

"It would be a wonderful statement, I think, for the rest of the country for the NFL to bring a Super Bowl here sooner rather than later," Landrieu said. "It would be a great move for the country to get that done."

Despite the ongoing struggle to rebuild the infrastructure of New Orleans, Landrieu said the city has all of the ample requirements to host a Super Bowl as it has in the past, and the area around the Superdome has adequate hotels, restaurants, and conference facilities. Many groups that moved their annual conventions from the area after Katrina have returned regardless of the scheduling inconveniences, Landrieu said, and he wants the NFL to do the same.

The league has told officials it has kept New Orleans off the rotation list at least in part until it resolves an agreement between the team and the Saints that expires within a few years. The NFL also has rewarded cities that have built new stadiums for teams, with the Phoenix area, for example, slated to host the Super Bowl in 2008. Landrieu admits there may be practical issues but wants to work with the league to resolve them.

Of much greater import is securing more federal money. Landrieu said the local tourism industry took a three-year hit after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and was only beginning to improve when Katrina struck. The catastrophe covered an area seven times as big as Manhattan, and the city's population is now down to approximately 200,000 from 480,000, he said.

Areas of New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward are filled with roofless structures, decaying homes and patches of standing water. Even after 16 months, some neighborhoods appear largely as they have since the water subsided. Just getting all areas to have homes, jobs and schools in place is at the core of the mission, which would allow many of those forced to flee the storm to come back.

"It's a tale of two cities," Landrieu said.

He is urging more congressmen to visit the area to understand fully the breadth of the problems -- only about half have made the visit -- and given that 90 percent of the damage was caused by the levees failing -- and not the hurricane itself. "The federal government is the primary culprit here," he said. Landrieu feels it is incumbent on all Americans to take a vested interest in helping it recover.

"This is an American city, this is an American tragedy. It requires an American response," Landrieu said.

In the meantime, the Saints will serve as a favorite diversion, with another sellout crowd supporting them Sunday, and a home playoff game now just a few weeks away.