Now that Super Bowl XLIII has come and gone, New Orleans is preparing to put together a bid that would end the longest drought from the city for the NFL's big game.
It's been seven years since New Orleans, which has played host to nine Super Bowls, last had the title game. And with the next three games already awarded to Miami -- which will host for a record 10th time next February -- Arlington, Texas, and Indianapolis, it will be at least 11 years between games by the time it gets back to the Big Easy.
The key, according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the New Orleans Sports Foundation, is for the Saints and the state of Louisiana to agree to a new long-term lease that will keep the franchise in the city.
As a result, Saints officials and the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal are now working under a two-month deadline to reach a new deal and keep the team past the 2010 season -- which marks the end of the current lease arrangement with the state.
On Monday, Jindal declined to divulge details on talks with the team -- or even acknowledge a time crunch, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate.
At least two media outlets in the New Orleans area in the last couple of weeks, including the TV station owned by Saints owner Tom Benson, have reported that the team is close to agreeing to a new lease with the state.
"We don't have anything to say today about a possible extension," Jindal said during a news conference in Baton Rouge on a different matter.
Other state officials said they want a deal in place to make New Orleans more attractive as a possible Super Bowl XLVII site in 2013. The reason is draft bids must be submitted to the NFL by April 1 with the game expected to be awarded at the league meetings in May.
"It's our goal to have something done prior to that meeting," said Ron Forman, chairman of the Stadium and Exposition District's Board of Commissioners.
Forman is one of the Jindal administration's primary negotiators in talks with the team.
Greg Bensel, the vice president of communications for the Saints, said the team wants to be in the mix when the 2013 Super Bowl bids are put in. But at the same time, he said, he acknowledged the complexities of coming to a long-term agreement with the state.
"Talks are ongoing, both sides know what is at stake and yes, time is of the essence," Bensel said in an e-mail to The Advocate.
The Saints are nearing the end of a 10-year agreement with the state in which the team will have received $186.5 million in state subsidies from a deal brokered by former Gov. Mike Foster.
