New Orleans Saints send thanks to TCU Football following Hurrican Ida
After being displaced by Hurricane Ida the New Orleans Saints set up camp in the Dallas- Fort Worth area, utilizing the facilities at TCU. Over the weekend the Saints’ official Twitter page sent out a tweet expressing their gratitude towards the Horned frogs for sharing their facilities with them.
A tweet that was then re-tweeted by TCU affirming the bond of appreciation between the two.
Hurricane Ida’s affect on The Saints
The Saints packed up before Ida even made landfall on Aug. 29. They canceled their final preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, which was scheduled for the night before. Finishing off the preseason at 1-1. New Orleans has already made plans to play their season opener against the Green Bay Packers at the Jacksonville Jaguars home stadium, TIAA Bank Field.
Head coach Sean Payton said that the Saints will use TCU’s practice facility for the next month. There was no major damage at Cesar’s Place Superdome, where New Orleans plays their home games. However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted some pictures of the issues at their practice facilities. Not to mention that most areas in the city are still without running water and electricity.
The Saints are no strangers to this kind of situation as they played their entire 2005-06 season away from home, due to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. That year saw the Saints use San Antonio’s Alamodome and the LSU Tigers’ Tiger Stadium as sites for their home games and practices. This time around, New Orleans could be looking at a quicker return to home than in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Why TCU was chosen
While there are other options the Saint could have used TCU and the Saints have a relationship with the program and TCU has hosted a pro team before back when a lightning storm destroyed the Dallas Cowboys training complex in the summer of 2009.
TCU has a state-of-the-art facility with pro-level quality equipment, complete with indoor practice fields. And for Payton, his son currently attends the school.
As for home games for the Saints going forward, there is not currently a plan in place past week one’s matchup against the Packers.
Payton said that playing at the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium is one possibility for the team. And New Orleans had been using the stadium to practice prior to their agreement with TCU; so the team is familiar with that site too. But for now, the Saints have formed and bond and secured home with the Horned Frogs as their city and state recover from the effects of Hurricane Ida.