Hornets Hype

Via A.P.:

Meanwhile, Thornton said the neighboring New Orleans Arena, home of the NBA’s Hornets, also did not appear to have any serious damage. None of the windows in its atrium around the main entry broke. It appeared flying debris dented the siding, “but that could be easily fixed,” Thornton said. He also said a large outdoor video board was out.

There were no concerts or other major events scheduled in the arena this week, Thornton said.

When Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005, high winds ripped a hole in the Superdome’s roof, allowing rain water to pour in. With power out in New Orleans humid late summer, mold festered. In addition, the stadium was trashed by about 30,000 evacuees who were stuck there for days without plumbing or air conditioning.

The entire roof was replaced and much of the inside gutted and disinfected before suites, concession stands and club lounges were rebuilt in time for the Saints’ 2006 home opener.

This time, New Orleans was under a mandatory evacuation and the Superdome, a vital economic engine for the city for all the major events it hosts, is no longer used as a refuge of last resort.

Good news all around! It seems (fingers crossed) like the city dodged a major bullet this time. I was out of town, by coincidence, at the time of the storm, but we’ll give a more detailed update when we return to New Orleans on Wednesday evening. Naturally, tonight’s flight (which I was scheduled to be on) was canceled but this blog has one of the first flights back 9/3. This blog will probably update again at that time. Thanks for all the great comments and good wishes on the previous post!

NOLA proud… NOLA strong!