And if it's broke, fix it!

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More than 3.8 million gallons of water and 4,000 tons of debris wound up in the Dome post-Katrina and experts predicted it would take 14 months for the facility to reopen. But after a December visit from then-NFL commish Paul Tagliabue, officials pledged to get the place ready by September. Funding came from several sources, including $121 million from FEMA and $20 million from the NFL. Owner Tom Benson's share? Zilch. In exchange for its millions, the NFL got the city to reduce -- by up to $20 million -- the penalty the team will owe if it leaves town before its lease expires in 2010. Such is life in the Big Easy.

Fixing the 9.7-acre roof was the toughest -- and, at $32 million, the costliest -- part of the job. Katrina had scalped the rubber membrane that covered the metal dome. To replace it, a 125-man crew built a minivillage on the roof and spent five months there. Their work camp, 27 stories off the ground, had its own weather station and portable johns. "You just shut the door and hope there are no wind gusts while you're in there," says project manager Tom Keller, whose hard hat will be displayed in the Hall of Fame as part of a future exhibit on the renovation.

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