When fans walk around Caesars Superdome, they may be dazzled by its grandeur and modernity. But it was no small task getting the stadium to where it is now.

The 11th Super Bowl hosted by New Orleans is finally at hand after years of planning and months of feverishly fixing up the French Quarter and downtown. New Orleans’ pre-Super Bowl scramble was like a last-minute, city-wide house cleaning before company arrives. The disruption of January’s once-in-a-century snowstorm didn’t help.