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Team Report: Notes and Quotes

Inside Slant | Notes and Quotes | Strategy and Personnel
--The Saints could play their two home preseason games in the state of Louisiana -- likely Shreveport and Lafayette -- this summer because the hurricane-damaged Superdome won't be ready until September.

The team would likely play the Dallas Cowboys in one of those games, with Shreveport's Independence Stadium as the probable site. The city is only 180 miles from Dallas and has many Cowboys fans.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Dallas media that his team was making plans to play a preseason game in Louisiana, saying, "We will do all we can do early with the Saints to get the Saints kicked off right."

The Saints and NFL see the games as an opportunity to extend their marketing efforts throughout the Gulf South region. The team could also host preseason games in Mississippi or Alabama if the two Louisiana sites don't work out.

"We are exploring all options to keep the games in the Gulf South," team spokesman Greg Bensel said earlier this month. "We are exploring several locations, but nothing has been finalized at this time."

--Superdome officials said the stadium will be "football-ready" for a Sept. 24 game with the Atlanta Falcons, although some aspects of construction - primarily in the box suite and ballroom areas - will continue throughout the season and in the following months.

Work is scheduled to begin March 1 on the roof, the most ambitious aspect of the project. The roof will be fully replaced, including the steel decking. Pie-shaped sections will be removed, new steel will be installed, and the surface will be topped with a yellow-colored polyurethane foam that is sprayed on and hardens into a dense substance similar to Styrofoam.

The entire project, at a total cost of $32 million, is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 1, with 150 workers on the job. Work can continue during the football season if necessary.

Meanwhile, remediation work continues inside the dome. The seats are being dried and cleaned under large plastic covers and damaged sheetrock is being removed and replaced in the "gladiator ring," the air conditioning and ventilating duct that encircles to top of the main arena.

--The Saints will begin their off-season strength and conditioning program on March 20 at the team's training facility in suburban New Orleans.

Because they have a new coaching staff, the Saints can hold three minicamps instead of the usual two. Veteran minicamps are tentatively set for April 14-16 and June 2-4, with a rookies-only session to be held May 13-15.

Training camp will again be held at the team's Metairie training facility starting in late July.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "This is the team that drafted me, and I love the city, and they've got the best fans in the world. I felt as a player I did everything I could do to make sure I was part of that organization. Obviously, they didn't feel the same way." - Center LeCharles Bentley on what figures to be an upcoming split with the Saints.

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