New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers to play Week One game in Jacksonville, Florida

Saints-Packers Week 1 game to be played in Jacksonville following Hurricane Ida
from Erin Walsh, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com

The New Orleans Saints’ Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers, originally scheduled to be played at Caesars Superdome in Louisiana, has officially been moved to TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., the NFL announced Wednesday.

The game will take place Sunday, Sept. 12 at 3:25 p.m. CT. The Jaguars open their season away from Jacksonville, which makes TIAA Bank Stadium one of the best options for the Saints.

The game was moved due to the impact of Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm, in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Clean-up procedures are still underway and many are still without power.

“I am proud of the collective communications that occurred between many entities in a short amount of time that led to us making this decision,” said New Orleans Saints Owner Gayle Benson. “It is never easy to make a decision that involves not playing a Saints home game in the Caesars Superdome, but I am confident that this is the right decision for our city at this juncture. Collectively, we have a monumental task ahead of us in cleaning up the after effects left by Hurricane Ida, but it has been inspiring to see people getting right to work and starting the process. I wish to personally thank Shahid Khan, Mark Lamping and the entire Jacksonville Jaguars staff and their city leaders in offering to host our game. Our staff is working diligently to prepare for the game and we anticipate many Saints fans from across the region will be there to support Coach Payton and the Saints players.”
Benson chartered flights for Saints players and their families to safely evacuate New Orleans before the storm. The team has been practicing at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, since Saturday.

Luckily, Hurricane Ida did not cause as much damage as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which resulted in the Saints playing away from home for an entire season. Caesars Superdome sustained no significant damage during the storm, which is a good sign as the Saints hope to return home as soon as possible.