It's going to be dome sweet dome for the Saints after all this week.

The Saints, who were forced to play the entire 2005 season away from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and Superdome, got a scare this week when Hurricane Gustav threatened.

But after Gustav came ashore southwest of the city earlier this week, New Orleans was spared a direct hit. There were power outages in the city, but damage to the stadium was minimal - allowing the Saints to open the regular season as scheduled Sunday against the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Saints owner Tom Benson, in conjunction with Superdome officials as well as state and local officials, made the decision Tuesday to play in the Superdome after a few concerns were addressed.

Benson made the announcement from Indianapolis, where the Saints fled on Saturday as Gustav took dead aim on the Louisiana coast. In addition to the Saints, 95 percent of the city's population evacuated in advance of the dangerous storm.

"There were a number of critical issues that needed to be addressed before we could make this announcement," Benson said. "We've been assured by Superdome officials the stadium is ready to host our fans and our team for a sold-out game this Sunday, and we have been assured by our political leaders that we have their support in making this happen."

The team practiced in the Indianapolis Colts' new Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday and Wednesday and will work there again Thursday and Friday before returning to New Orleans on Friday evening.

Payton said he was satisfied that, despite the ordeal, the Saints will be prepared for Sunday's opener.

"Overall, I think we've had good attention to detail," Payton said. "The plan we put in place was relatively smooth. Everyone here has been great to us, starting with the hotel and us getting here Saturday night and Sunday.

"Then, Bill Polian and the Irsays with the Colts organization allowing us to use this facility that's been open all week, it's been real smooth."

Payton said team officials kept the players and coaches updated all day Monday as Gustav reached Louisiana and the outcome with the city dodging the brunt of the storm helped them focus on the task at hand.

"We had a good practice Monday, yesterday was the players' day off, and then today we had another good, spirited practice," Payton said after practice on Wednesday. "The focus is certainly on this game and we've tried to keep it that way. I thought we had good work. It was crisp and guys are healthy."

SERIES HISTORY
33rd meeting. Saints lead series, 19-13, even though the Bucs swept both games last year en route to the NFC South title. The Bucs have also won six of the last nine matchups of the two teams, but they've split the 12 games played since joining the NFC South in 2002.

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