Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl at the Superdome: How does the indoor venue change the game?

New York Times

30-01-2025

The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off for Super Bowl 59 in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. This will be the eighth Super Bowl to grace this domed cathedral of sport.
As we do each year, we're asking: How might this venue impact the big game? Do Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts play better under a dome? On turf? Does any local lore give us superstitions to latch on to, all in good fun?
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Here are a few things to know about the Superdome; some may be actual factors in the game, while others are just wild speculation … with a bit of history mixed in.
Last year, we asked, 'What difference does a dome make?' In all 58 Super Bowls, indoor and outdoor, the betting favorite has won 37 times — or nearly 64 percent of the time. If you narrow the pool to the 21 indoor games, the favorites win two-thirds of the time (14 out of 21). The Chiefs are favored by 1.5 points.
Neither the Chiefs' nor the Eagles' home field is covered.
The Eagles lost to the Raiders in the New Orleans Superdome in 1981 in Super Bowl XV. In 2005, they lost SB XXXIX to the Patriots at Alltel Stadium (now EverBank Stadium), which is roofless. In 2023, they lost SB LVIII at State Farm Stadium with the roof open. The Eagles' one Super Bowl win was at the indoor venue U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Chiefs have played one Super Bowl in a dome: Last year's 25-22 win over the 49ers.
But really, an indoor stadium invites less variability than an outdoor one since weather is not a factor. (Unless you count the 'weather' of raucous fan noise.) The higher measure of predictability helps explain why the favorite's chances are slightly better under a dome.
Who benefits? Neither very strongly, but we'll go with the Chiefs.
Far more than the roof situation, the floor of the game is a controversial factor. The Super Bowl will be played on artificial turf rather than natural grass.
Before last year's Super Bowl, NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell said that 92 percent of the union wants grass over turf. Howell said that the union collected data showing that injuries occur at a slower rate on natural grass compared to artificial turf.
In the history of Super Bowls, 24 have been played on turf and 34 have been played on grass.
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The Chiefs play on grass at Arrowhead Stadium, while the Eagles play on a hybrid grass and turf surface at Lincoln Financial Field.
This season, the Chiefs played 14 games on grass and just five on turf. Their loss to Buffalo was on turf, and their Week 18 loss at home (on grass) didn't really count because no starters played.
The Eagles this season have played 11 games on a hybrid surface with a 10-1 record, four on grass (2-2) and five on turf (5-0).
Who benefits? The Eagles have played more games this season on turf and won them all, so we're giving it to Philly.
When the Superdome last played host to the Super Bowl, a 2013 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, a power failure led to a blackout in the third quarter of the game.
Officials have expressed confidence this won't happen again. An investigation isolated the cause of the 2013 outage to a relay device in an electrical vault approximately a quarter mile away from the dome. Officials from electricity supplier Entergy say that key upgrades to the Superdome's infrastructure will ensure the lights stay on at Super Bowl 59.
Who benefits? Everybody benefits from zero blackouts. *knock on wood*
New Orleans is a city of rich history, vibrant culture and rooted superstitions. It's a town that both celebrates and fears its entrenched ghost stories: You can easily join a ghost tour in the French Quarter that will spin tales of vampires, Voodoo priestesses and the haunted mansions of demented sociopaths.
One of the most famous superstitions in New Orleans lore is the curse on, you guessed it, the Superdome. For years, rumor had it that an old, abandoned graveyard, Girod Street Cemetery, had been excavated to build the Superdome in its place. From NOLA.com writer Jon Donley in 2005:
'[L]ocal lore is that the Superdome was cursed . . . a punishment for desecrating this City of the Dead. Exorcists and voodoo priestesses have been here to dispel the curse. The main target of the curse, of course, has been the New Orleans Saints.'
Most historical sources indicate that the Superdome was built near but not directly on the former cemetery site: 'The only part of the Superdome to sit on what was once the old cemetery are two of its parking garages.'
The best argument against the curse? The Saints were playing like a cursed team before the Superdome became their home when they were based out of Tulane Stadium.
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Who benefits? Anyone NOT named the New Orleans Saints.
It's not just the city of New Orleans that's associated with Voodoo and a little bit of Superdome superstition. Taylor Swift, who performed three shows on her Eras Tour in the Superdome in late October, has lore of her own.
Swift fans — and haters — have used the term 'Tayvoodoo' to reference the pop star's seeming influence on the Chiefs' performance. (It must be emphasized that this is all absolutely unverified and based on wild flights of fancy.) Jason and Travis Kelce even joked about it on their podcast, 'New Heights,' with Jason saying, 'I feel like you guys are the 'Angels in the Outfield.' There's some unknown.' To which Travis replied, 'Here you go with this f***ing Tayvoodoo s*** again.'
Ahem.
Fans have drawn attention to the fact that when Swift performed in the Superdome, she referenced Kelce and football several times throughout her performance, even holding up three fingers — perhaps to represent a three-peat?
Another example of supposed Tayvoodoo? Swift wore a skirt to the AFC Championship that was suspiciously similar to the skirt she wore to last year's AFC Championship. I don't believe in her 'Voodoo' powers, but I do know a fan superstition when I see one. Surely, most of us can relate.
Who benefits? Chiefs?
The Superdome originally opened in 1975 and reopened in September 2006 after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina. The Superdome has hosted seven Super Bowls already. The 13-acre expanse capped by a 273-foot domed roof has hosted concerts, conferences, conventions, 'Wheel of Fortune,' movie premieres — and, of course, nearly every sporting event imaginable, including six NCAA championships in men's college basketball, the annual Sugar Bowl and the Bayou Classic (Southern University vs. Grambling State University).
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It may be best known internationally for becoming an emergency shelter for thousands of people during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The dome sustained heavy damage and underwent months of reconstruction, reopening for the Saints' home opener in 2006 with new quarterback Drew Brees. The reopening was a national event, broadcast to ESPN's largest-ever audience at that time, with performances by the Goo Goo Dolls, U2 and Green Day, and the coin toss conducted by then-President George W. Bush. The Saints beat the Falcons 23-3 and went on to reach their first NFC Championship Game later that season.
(Photo credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)