NEW ORLEANS — NFL coach Sean Payton remains a fan of the nearly 50-year-old Superdome, where he paced the home sideline for 15 seasons. “I challenge any venue to age like this one has,” Payton, now with the Denver Broncos, said while visiting New Orleans for Super Bowl-related festivities this week.On Sunday, the hulking, 70,000-seat, triple-decker stadium — an unmistakable figure in the New Orleans skyline with its champagne-colored metallic sheen and hourglass shape — will host a Super Bowl for the eighth time.Payton surmised the Superdome has housed more special moments in sports history than perhaps any stadium in existence now, “and hopefully more this weekend.” Nearly $1 billion has been spent on repairs and upgrades to the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina tore a hole in the roof while the stadium was sheltering thousands of New Orleans residents from the storm on Aug. 29, 2005.About $600 million has been spent to upgrade the dome since it last hosted a Super Bowl in 2013, according to Doug Thornton, an executive vice president for ASM Global, a company which manages sports and entertainment venues around the world, including the state-owned Superdome.Interior ramps were removed and replaced with soaring escalators and modern interior design features that give spacious areas just inside several main entrances the look like modern, upscale hotel lobbies.Fans “want to be able to walk and talk” during games,” Thornton said. “Particularly the younger generations that come to the games, they want to hang out with their friends.” Some seating areas in the corners of the two upper levels have been removed to open …
