Posted on 12/05/2005 2:50:58 PM PST by LA Woman3
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the Saints will play the 2006 season as the New Orleans Saints, but that the team will likely play at least some of their games in San Antonio.
Tagliabue toured areas of the Lower Ninth Ward, Lakeview, New Orleans East, as well as the team’s training facility in Metairie. He pronounced the team’s facility to be in “excellent” condition.
The Superdome, he said, was another story. He said that facility may be able to house some Saints games by December of 2006.
Tagliabue said the Saints lease with the state allows the team to play all of its games elsewhere, if even a single game has to be moved because of a natural disaster. He said the league and the team were going beyond the lease by playing games in the city and state.
Tagliabue also met with business leaders to try to map out how soon they expect the city to recover and he announced that a full-time liaison, former Saints executive Eddie Jones, would work in New Orleans and report on progress.
The NFL commissioner said there have been discussions with LSU about possibly playing some games at Tiger Stadium in 2006, and he said he felt that many things hindered the Saints drawing ability in Baton Rouge.
According to Tagliabue, having the “home” games televised, and not having time to plan ticket sales there, hurt the crowds.
Tagliabue said there have been talks with LSU officials and that a schedule of games could be put out in early January.
And most of the population of New Orleans is in Baton Rouge, so it shouldn't be too bad.
Why not L.A.? (as opposed to La.)
About time San Antonio gets the respect they deserve. Texas can support a three NFL teams.
But right now Texas only has one team.
(Just kidding, Houston.)
Tiger Stadium was empty because of Tom Benson. It's no more complicated than that. He insulted New Orleans, Louisiana, with his play for San Antonio. Then he bad-mouthed and insulted the good folks of Baton Rouge who rolled out the red carpet for him and his team. Tom Benson hasn't any good-will left in these parts anymore. He needs a damned PR agent and soon!
Nope. Didn't see it. Drat!
Who will be sitting in the stands? Just crickets and rats.
Bleh. Figures.
Benson wants to move the team.
A small part of me, wonders just a little bit, if he isn't going out of his way to alienate the fans so that it will be easier when he moves the team out by blaming fan support.
I.E. insult the people, when they don't show up, move the team and blame the folks you insulted.
Either way, he ain't selling and the NFL can't stop him if he wants to move.
Doesn't matter.
Jerry Jones can't stop them even if he wanted to.
See the NFL/Al Davis court case.
Before the hurricane, New Orleans was one of the smallest, and slowest growing, metro areas to have an NFL team, and was notably deficient in terms of Fortune 500 companies headquartered there -- and those are the guys who lease the skyboxes, buy the big ads in the Dome and on TV, and pay for stadium naming rights (an unfortunate economic necessity these days). And now, it seems that even if the recovery proceeds with miraculous speed, "New New Orleans" will be a substantially smaller city than it was.
Add to that the fact that the people and corporations which remained or which will return will have more important economic concerns than investing in the Saints. Under the sad circumstances, I can't see forcing the team owner to stay in New Orleans when he clearly has more workable options.
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