Overall, the old grande dame of sports stadiums looks great. She s had less of a facelift (or tummy

Let me get this out there first: I m an avid Saints fan and a lifelong Superdome supporter. For more than three decades, Stewart and I have trekked faithfully to Poydras Street on Sundays rainy and steamy, cold and wet, to watch the black and gold.
Over time, as our bottom line increased, our seating cheap rental cars in houston level decreased. We ve gradually moved from Terrace to Plaza, from the 600s to the 100s. In a bit of cosmic serendipity, our section and row numbers have declined as the Saints success inclined. In the past couple of years, we ve had first-rate views of fleur-de-lis triumph.
And on Friday night, at the Saints first 2011-2012 pre-season game, I got my first look at the new checkered non-slip floors, streamlined women s bathrooms, glossy food stations, enhanced lighting and, especially, the realigned, blockier sets of Plaza seats.
Overall, the old grande dame of sports stadiums looks great. She s had less of a facelift (or tummy tuck) and more of a costume change. Instead of vintage attire that s rooted cheap rental cars in houston in the 70s, she s now wearing contemporary, more sporty garb.
This is not a couture refit: The club seats are a durable synthetic weave, the floors a slightly rubbery terrazzo-patterned laminate. Inner ring food stations (single-themed carts selling beer, pretzels, Dippin Dots and the like) lean toward lower, sleeker metal and glass stands, while outer ring food stations (Parish Grill and those that sell more substantial lineups) have been brought to the edge of the concourse, rather than remain tucked into pockets along it. Restrooms, cheap rental cars in houston conversely, now are entered and exited through side doors and hallways, rather than doors at the concourse edge.
I ve always loved the fact that the Superdome doesn t look or feel like a typical sports stadium cheap rental cars in houston the Eagles relatively new (2003) Lincoln Field in Philadelphia is all erector-set girders and open-air catwalks, while the Cardinals newer (2006) University of Phoenix stadium, cheap rental cars in houston with its oval concrete shell, reminds me a bit of Tiger Stadium. Not in a good way.
I love the sleekness of the Dome, which has always been more curves than angles, cheap rental cars in houston more gentle slopes than hard staircases. cheap rental cars in houston It is a building that has aged with elegance cheap rental cars in houston and class. Think greyhound rather than boxer.
The new redo, at least on the Plaza level, which is all I explored on Friday, has been rethought in a much more angular fashion. Seating cheap rental cars in houston sections are now rectangular, food stands more sharply edged, concourses leaning to wide straightaways rather than corner bends. On the lower level, three new (pricier) Plaza Club sections have been added on either side of the 50 yard line; the new bunker club lounges service these sections (which means I don t have access with my regular Plaza ticket). For a nifty 3D tour of all sections of the new and improved Dome, click here .
The Good: Thirty stalls count em thirty, in the nearest women s bathroom. Sure, it was a preseason game, but I ve never waited such a short time to, um, pee. I actually boosted my usual two beers to three. This could be a bad thing.
The Bad: In my area of the Dome, entries to the women s bathrooms tended to be around the corner, in main gate aisles, while exits give onto the concourse. Although these are clearly marked, many women head straight for the nearer out hallway instead of making the turn to find the in door. Security personnel were stationed cheap rental cars in houston at the exits, to keep women from walking in the back door. Seems like a big expenditure in employee time and hours to me. But, hey, maybe we ll learn the routes. Rookies usually do.
The Ugly: A dozen tiny antiseptic white porcelain sinks instead of that elegant circular hand-washing sprinkler of yore? I m sure there s a reason, but Also, I d heard that bathrooms will have TVs, but the women s, at least, cheap rental cars in houston don t yet and nor was there the reassuring voice of Jim Henderson overhead, making sure we didn t miss a big play while standing in line.
The Good: More choices; more stands. They ve added meatball sandwiches at the Rotolo Pizza stand, and adding meatballs, even if it s not on po-boy bread, can only be a good thing. The Zatarain s jambalaya remains intact, and they have vastly upgraded the popcorn, with multiple cheap rental cars in houston new machines. The bigger concession stands those purveying burgers, chicken tenders and the like have more serving stations, and condiment areas (woefully cheap rental cars in houston insufficient before) are better placed and maintained. I even managed to snag a napkin well into the third quarter.
cheap rental cars in houston The Bad: The inner, freestanding concession stands are more product specific. Therefore, beer stands, say, sell only beer (what, no peanuts?! Two stops for beer and peanuts, really?). The outer, permanent stands are now directly adjacent to the concourse, so that lines tend to form into people s path. The concourses are wider now, but the lines going perpendicular to traffic make for occasional roadblocks.
The Ugly: No chili dogs? Disaster! I go to the Dome as much for the junk food as the yard-line play. Like you, I have my staples. The new menu has only a basic dog; the only way to add chili and cheese is to buy them in a separate $2 container. And what is it with the waffle fries, cheap rental cars in houston which are now standard? Waffle fries just don t fill a cup the way the old-fashioned ones do. Food quality is inconsistent: popcorn and barbecue were good, the chicken sandwich inedible. Finally, the prices. The prices! I shelled out $18 for a pulled pork sandwich and a beer. My standard bag of peanuts now costs $4.25, and beers are $8.50. Dome prices have never been slim, but now it s easy to run up a $40 or $50 food and drink tab. Just a glass of wine is $9, and if you like double shots in your cocktail, it will run you $14.
The Good: Crisp, clean new seating everywhere (although I don t know how long that will last if fans like the hefty guy in front of me keep standing on them to climb over into a less crowded row behind to exit). There are more rows closer to the action, and 3,100 more seats for fans, surely a good thing, although that does bring me to
The Bad: The reconfiguration shuffled people around. Everyone in my area was assigned new seats, and most people cheap rental cars in houston I talked to didn t like the change. Including me. We were moved from the 30-yard line to the 20, and from 14 rows off the field to Row 8. The new row is so low to the field that it killed our sight lines, and when the TV truck rolls in front of us, we have to watch the monitors to follow the play. Other fellow season holders I talked to were not happy with the lower sight lines, nor the push toward the end zone. The new seatmates to our right, however, were happy with their placement: Their former section 147 had been completely cheap rental cars in houston lost to that Plaza Club addition in the redo, and they had been arbitrarily reassigned seats under the overhang cheap rental cars in houston in the end zone. They complained, and were moved to our section.
Despite the quibbles, the update keeps the Dome current. We certainly don t need a new stadium given the great one we have. Like grandmother s fine mahogany sideboard, the Dome may need an occasional refinishing, but will always outshine that mirrored contemporary piece.
Renee Peck writes weekly about New Orleans lifestyles for NolaVie. To receive Email updates cheap rental cars in houston from Renee, join her email list at nolavie.com/contributor/renee/ . For more information on NolaVie, visit NolaVie.com .