TheWriter
04-29-2005, 12:13 AM
Completely hypothetical in terms of San Antonio getting the team.
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Ladies and gentlemen, your San Antonio Sidewinders
By JIM MASHEK
The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)
BILOXI, Miss. - Kathleen Blanco isn't blinking.
And Tom Benson isn't budging.
Negotiations between the state of Louisiana and the New Orleans Saints are going nowhere, and the upshot of that, of course, is this could mean the Saints are going somewhere.
As in somewhere else.
Blanco, the governor of Louisiana, says her state's coffers cannot meet the payment of public assistance to the Saints dictated by an agreement signed by her predecessor, Mike Foster.
Benson, in turn, insists the Saints will not resume negotiations with the state until after the 2005 NFL season, at which point the Saints can pay of a penalty of $81 million and bail for what they consider greener pastures.
Greener pastures will always get Benson's attention.
Because that's the color of money, and that's what drives Benson in nearly everything he does.
The NFL has held one city after another hostage for sweetheart stadium deals, with the premise that Los Angeles beckons as a lucrative alternative for any municipality that fails to pony up.
In this case, it's going to be a state.
And the state of Louisiana has a lot of pressing needs to address.
Benson has given up on his fantasy of having a $450 million, state-of-the-art stadium built for the Saints. Instead, he'll settle for a renovated Louisiana Superdome, which the state has agreed to, with provisions.
There's a chance we won't even get to that point.
Benson expects the state of Louisiana to pay his franchise a lump sum of $15 million within the next six weeks, and if it doesn't happen, all bets are off.
One man's prediction:
It's not gonna happen.
That's when Benson will have the ammunition he needs to move the Saints to a more profitable locale, and I'm sure he sees dollar signs when he looks at the "Hollywood" sign in the mountains of L.A.
All things being equal, I don't think Benson wants to move the Saints. But he's going to put his own profits ahead of civic pride and/or whether it's the right thing to do.
The Saints' deal with Foster was put together before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and tourism has taken a major hit in New Orleans since then. The city's entire economy is built around tourism.
Blanco has to put the welfare of Louisiana citizens before the fortunes (and fortune) of its NFL football team, but Benson doesn't seem to understand that.
He doesn't understand what it takes to build a successful NFL organization, either, but that's an argument for another time and place.
Imagine a Louisiana Superdome playing host to little more than four or five Tulane football games, some conventions and the annual Sugar Bowl.
Imagine Tom Benson shopping his team around, and possibly winding up in San Antonio, where he actually lives, instead of Los Angeles.
Some media reports in L.A. have indicated potential investors are looking for more dynamic ownership than Benson has to offer.
Benson is going to do what he's always done, and that's put himself, and his wallet, first.
Blanco is prepared to call his bluff, and Benson is preparing to have his bluff called.
The San Antonio Sidewinders?
Much more genteel than snakes.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/11516448.htm
-----------------------------------------------------
Ladies and gentlemen, your San Antonio Sidewinders
By JIM MASHEK
The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)
BILOXI, Miss. - Kathleen Blanco isn't blinking.
And Tom Benson isn't budging.
Negotiations between the state of Louisiana and the New Orleans Saints are going nowhere, and the upshot of that, of course, is this could mean the Saints are going somewhere.
As in somewhere else.
Blanco, the governor of Louisiana, says her state's coffers cannot meet the payment of public assistance to the Saints dictated by an agreement signed by her predecessor, Mike Foster.
Benson, in turn, insists the Saints will not resume negotiations with the state until after the 2005 NFL season, at which point the Saints can pay of a penalty of $81 million and bail for what they consider greener pastures.
Greener pastures will always get Benson's attention.
Because that's the color of money, and that's what drives Benson in nearly everything he does.
The NFL has held one city after another hostage for sweetheart stadium deals, with the premise that Los Angeles beckons as a lucrative alternative for any municipality that fails to pony up.
In this case, it's going to be a state.
And the state of Louisiana has a lot of pressing needs to address.
Benson has given up on his fantasy of having a $450 million, state-of-the-art stadium built for the Saints. Instead, he'll settle for a renovated Louisiana Superdome, which the state has agreed to, with provisions.
There's a chance we won't even get to that point.
Benson expects the state of Louisiana to pay his franchise a lump sum of $15 million within the next six weeks, and if it doesn't happen, all bets are off.
One man's prediction:
It's not gonna happen.
That's when Benson will have the ammunition he needs to move the Saints to a more profitable locale, and I'm sure he sees dollar signs when he looks at the "Hollywood" sign in the mountains of L.A.
All things being equal, I don't think Benson wants to move the Saints. But he's going to put his own profits ahead of civic pride and/or whether it's the right thing to do.
The Saints' deal with Foster was put together before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and tourism has taken a major hit in New Orleans since then. The city's entire economy is built around tourism.
Blanco has to put the welfare of Louisiana citizens before the fortunes (and fortune) of its NFL football team, but Benson doesn't seem to understand that.
He doesn't understand what it takes to build a successful NFL organization, either, but that's an argument for another time and place.
Imagine a Louisiana Superdome playing host to little more than four or five Tulane football games, some conventions and the annual Sugar Bowl.
Imagine Tom Benson shopping his team around, and possibly winding up in San Antonio, where he actually lives, instead of Los Angeles.
Some media reports in L.A. have indicated potential investors are looking for more dynamic ownership than Benson has to offer.
Benson is going to do what he's always done, and that's put himself, and his wallet, first.
Blanco is prepared to call his bluff, and Benson is preparing to have his bluff called.
The San Antonio Sidewinders?
Much more genteel than snakes.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/11516448.htm