The New Orleans Saints will host the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome without fan attendance Sunday, despite the organization lobbying city leadership for limited attendance. 

Mike Triplett of ESPN reported the Saints and NFL have explored the possibility of playing games in Baton Rouge at LSU's outdoor stadium, but that will not happen until November at the earliest. 

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has denied pleas from the Saints to allow fan attendance because the Superdome is an enclosed stadium. The spread of COVID-19 is considered much more likely indoors, and cases in the state of Louisiana continue to increase. 

Saints coach Sean Payton has said the team would welcome moving games to Baton Rouge, which is a little more than an hour outside of New Orleans. 

"I welcome it. I don't think there'll be many challenges. I mean, it's right up the road," Payton said. "You'd be playing on grass outside in a great environment. And so if it was playing in the dome with no fans or playing up there with 25,000 of our fans, then every one of us would make the second choice.

"To me, that would be exciting."

The Saints requested to hold games at 25 percent capacity, beginning with Week 5's matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Several NFL teams have played games with limited fan attendance, but those have largely been limited to outdoor facilities or stadiums with retractable roofs. The Saints went on the offensive last week, even using their social media channels to bristle at Cantrell denying the team's request.