Architect: Trahan Architects APAC, Billes Architecture LLC, Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects - A Joint Venture
Information technology: Shen Milsom & Wilke, Houston and New York City
Size: about 1.9 million square feet
Completion: Phase 1, September 2006; Phase 2, September 2007

The Superdome is an architectural icon and an historic place—Pope John Paul II addressed 80,000 school children there in September of 1987; it has hosted more Super Bowls than any other facility; and, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it sheltered thousands of refugees.

The Superdome and the adjacent New Orleans Arena, after being ravaged by Katrina, are in the midst of a $185 million renovation. Shen Milsom & Wilke, serving as IT project manager, is designing the voice, data, and wireless communication systems. An aggressive 8-week Phase 1 schedule was required to ready the systems for the first scheduled National Football League/Saints home game.

Working closely with FEMA and multiple technology vendors and integrators, Shen Milson & Wilke is trying to achieve seamless interoperability among the Superdome’s diverse user group. For example, IT systems need to support wireless scans of 1,000-plus event tickets per minute, manage time card for thousands of temporary staff members, and provide diverse food services with communication systems and point-of-sale needs. There are also multiple secure private networks.

Shen Milsom & Wilke is also overseeing the implementation of a new main computing room and new communications infrastructure.

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