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Stadium History:
SCC’s current stadium is the last remaining remnants of the “upper deck” from the original Tulane/Sugar Bowl Stadium, which you know was the birthplace of the Saints in 1967. After the introduction of the Super Dome in 1975, the Sugar Bowl stadium was demolished in 1979. It was at this time that part of the Saints’ past became the future of SCC football. A section of the "upper deck" was salvaged, barged up the Mississippi River, and reassembled as our home side football stands by parents and community members. Even volunteer welders from local fabrication shops completed the reassembly process. The section relocated to SCC served us well until now - a second lifespan of 40 years.
At its prime, the Sugar Bowl was the largest steel structured stadium in the world. The architect was none other than Tom Benson’s great uncle, Herbert Benson. This great stadium played host to Tulane’s football program since 1926, the year before Tom Benson was born in 1927. The first Sugar Bowl game was played in 1935. Besides being the home of the Saints, the stadium was also the site of three of the first nine Super Bowls. The “upper deck” became famous as tens of thousands of Saints fans routinely stomped their feet on the steel decking to the point of shaking the entire stadium. Those were the original Who Dats.
As resilient as the “upper deck” has been, the time has arrived for its second demolition and final demolition. Besides the degrading condition of the steel, safety concerns over the narrow aisles and lack of handrails leave us with no choice but to install new bleachers. Based on the enclosed quote, the demolition and replacement costs are expected to exceed be $540,000.00.
