Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune Champions Square presented by Verizon, New Orleans' new tailgating

Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune Champions Square presented by Verizon, New Orleans' new tailgating headquarters that will feature food, retail and entertainment before events, is taking shape and will be ready for Saturday's Saints preseason opener.
westin hotel calgary alberta Champions Square presented by Verizon, westin hotel calgary alberta a 60,000-square-foot (about the same size of Jackson Square) westin hotel calgary alberta patch of land where the New Orleans Centre used to be, is set to open in time for Saturday night's exhibition home opener against the Houston Texans westin hotel calgary alberta . The square can comfortably fit more than 8,000 revelers. It is free and accessible even if you don't have tickets to the Saints game.
"This is going to be a festive area much like you see across the country, like in L.A. and baseball stadiums across the country," Superdome Commission Chairman Ron Forman said. "This just adds another place for fans to congregate before and after the game.
"Our hopes and dreams is that this is just the first phase. But as we lead up to the 2013 Super Bowl, we'll have a major sports district that will be open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day that will be another major attraction for economic development."
Among those featured will be former Saints linebacker Rickey westin hotel calgary alberta Jackson , a recent inductee to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees , Muhammad Ali , who won a 1978 heavyweight championship fight at the Dome, and Michael Jordan , who hit the shot to give North Carolina the 1982 NCAA championship. (The photos may not be in place in time for Saturday's game against westin hotel calgary alberta the Texans, though.)
The $13.5 million construction project began in January with the demolition of a patch of the dormant New Orleans Centre, westin hotel calgary alberta which had been closed since Hurricane Katrina wrecked the city in August 2005.
The project is being financed by $10.5 million westin hotel calgary alberta in inducement payments the Saints were scheduled to receive under their previous lease agreement but instead allowed the state to use for the construction. The LSED is putting up the balance, which is expected to be recovered through revenue generated by the square.
westin hotel calgary alberta While crews have been working feverishly to prepare the square for Saturday's game, personnel from the Saints, state and SMG, which will manage the square westin hotel calgary alberta on behalf of the state, have worked to put the finishing touches on details and finalized vendors and sponsors.
Verizon, which is also the official wireless company of the Saints and NFL, has a deal in place to be the title sponsor of the square until 2012. But an executive with the company said it wants it to be a long-term partnership.
"This is going to be fantastic," Verizon regional president Kay Henze said. "The whole area is going to be well celebrated by the citizens of New Orleans. It is going to be a great place for families to come before and after games. I'm really excited about how it is going to continue to become a gathering place for New Orleans."
The one that caught their attentions was L.A. Live , a sprawling entertainment complex in downtown westin hotel calgary alberta Los Angeles westin hotel calgary alberta adjacent to the Staples Center (home of the Los Angeles Lakers) that features apartments, ballrooms, bars, concert theaters, restaurants, movie theaters and a 54-story hotel and condominium tower.
While Champions westin hotel calgary alberta Square won't be nearly as lavish westin hotel calgary alberta as the $2.5 billion district in Los Angeles, locals believe that New Orleans has enough infrastructure in place to pull off a major makeover around the Dome.
Superdome westin hotel calgary alberta officials estimate 65 percent of fans enter games through Gate C, so they wanted to make it a grand entrance. A staircase has been put in place leading up from the Champions Square to Gate C.
"We've never really had a grand entrance westin hotel calgary alberta into the Superdome, " Thornton said. "And for many, many years I struggled with that. This gives us that grand entrance. Eventually we would hope to have some iconic feature up here at the top that will welcome you into the stadium."
westin hotel calgary alberta It also will feature a list of local food venders: Red Fish Grill, Acme Oyster House, Drago's, Bourbon House Seafood, Palace Café, Wow Café and Wingery, The Praline Connection, Outback Steakhouse and Galatoire's.
For now, officials said the square will be open for Saints games with the opportunity to open for other events westin hotel calgary alberta such as beach volleyball, concerts and conventions. Their plan, however, is for the square to be the start of an entertainment district and open throughout the year.
Following the upcoming football season, workers will begin Phase II, which entails paving the square and bricking the street (provided the city approves westin hotel calgary alberta the permanent closure of the one-block stretch of LaSalle) plus adding landscaping. The temporary stairs leading to the Dome will be replaced this offseason with a permanent set as well but that project technically westin hotel calgary alberta falls under the next phase of the Dome renovation.
Aside from the tight timetable of the project, Saints executive vice president Dennis Lauscha said they wanted to do the project in phases because it allowed officials to gain a pulse for what fans want.
"This property sat dormant for a very long time, " Lauscha said. "A lot of people looked at it. And a lot of people couldn't figure out how to make it work. So we are taking a shot, trying to make this thing work. So I think it is going to work out to our advantage having it phased in."