Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome Just four short years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Louisiana Superdome, the Saints and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation have submitted a bit to host the 2013 Super Bowl.

New Orleans has been the site of the NFL Championship nine times in the Super Bowl Era, the last in 2002 when the New England Patriots edged the out the St. Louis Rams in the final seconds to produce one of the most exciting finishes in history.

The foundation contends that with 18,000 downtown hotel rooms, the Superdome, the convention center and French Quarter all within walking distance of each other, New Orleans is still very well-suited to host this event.

Since Katrina, Louisiana Superdome got a new roof and major interior renovations, including rebuilt suites,
club lounges and new scoreboards.

The State of Louisiana is also preparing to move forward with additional improvements to the Superdome once the Saints have agreed to a proposed lease extension through 2025.

It is not uncommon for the NFL to conditionally grant the game to a site city pending proposed construction or improvements a stadium.

The 2010 Super Bowl originally was awarded to New York on the condition that a new stadium be built in Manhattan. The stadium, which also was part of the city's unsuccessful Olympic bid, failed to win government approval, and the NFL later awarded the game to Miami.

New Orleans already has successfully hosted an NBA All-Star Game and BCS national college football championship since Katrina, and it is scheduled to host college basketball's men's Final Four in 2012.