blaze89
11-11-2005, 12:22 AM
Buck Harvey: Bucks for Benson? From N.O. to T.O.
11/10/2005
San Antonio Express-News
Terrell Owens is taller, stronger and younger than Tom Benson. Owens also likes to pose for cameras rather than push them.
Still, these men are brothers. They are the least likable characters of this NFL season because they have little sense of those around them and because they can't hide their obsession for money.
Both eventually will get some cash. There's always a market for an All-Pro receiver, and there's always one for an NFL franchise. But just as the next team will be wary of Owens, the next city will be of Benson, too.
Such as San Antonio. When Benson comes back to negotiate — and he will — will South Texas voters want to subsidize a new stadium for him?
This is about how emotion enters into the business of sports, and the Eagles feel that today. Taking back Owens might have made football sense. But the franchise never felt better than when it rejected him even after he finally repented.
It can be a strong emotion on the field, too, because subtracting Owens will add locker-room energy. The Cowboys will lose to this power Monday night in Philadelphia.
San Antonio city leaders will feel less emotional when it comes to Benson, because they will see this as business. They will continue to go after Benson, just as he will continue to listen. Even if the Saints are forced to Baton Rouge next season — and there are no guarantees that will happen — Benson will be back to negotiate.
Going to Baton Rouge in 2006 might even help Benson's case. If ticket sales continue to be as down as the Louisiana economy, won't Paul Tagliabue have to let Benson do what is right for his business?
Benson will ask for more than a touch-up of the Alamodome. Last spring, after all, Benson said a $174 million proposal to renovate the Superdome wouldn't be enough.
So if a $174 million renovation of the Superdome fell short, what about a San Antonio dome that cost about that much to begin with? Benson won't come here without a commitment for a new stadium, as well as a list of other demands.
That's why Phil Hardberger's public pronouncement that he is against a stadium didn't ring true. Did he recruit the Saints without a clue about the cost? Art Modell moved his franchise to Baltimore, for example, after being promised the use of a new stadium rent-free for seven years, revenues from skyboxes, parking and concessions and a $75 million bonus.
These perks are how and why sports teams move, and the Hornets went through the same before they went to New Orleans. The owner, George Shinn, had so alienated everyone in Charlotte that a new arena was rejected. Only when he left did the city's mood change, and the Spurs played Wednesday night in the glow of the Shinn-less Bobcats.
There's such a huge financial investment to these deals that an emotional investment is required, too. Shinn and Modell found acceptance in other cities that were more consumed with their franchises than their flaws.
But Benson's flaws aren't regional. His story is too national and his image too familiar to this area. His caught-on-tape tiff in Baton Rouge added to that. He couldn't have been a better villain had Drew Rosenhaus orchestrated it for him.
Even Shinn has had a better understanding of how to handle a franchise's evacuation from New Orleans. He's never going back there, but he continues to act as if that is the goal.
Benson, instead, has come across as a cold, uncaring opportunist. And his history in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina doesn't suggest this is a new trend. He was always angling for a better Superdome deal with a car salesman's approach, squeezing more and more with every negotiation.
Bottom-line emotion: Is this someone you would vote to reward knowing he might do the same to you?
San Antonio voters would have a hard time going for a $500 million stadium bill no matter who the NFL owner was. The Alamodome still sits here, just a little more than a dozen years old, and the city will always have other needs.
But when the prospective partner is Benson? The T.O. of owners
Link to story... (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA111005.1C.COL.FBNharvey.saints.84bf98f.html)
11/10/2005
San Antonio Express-News
Terrell Owens is taller, stronger and younger than Tom Benson. Owens also likes to pose for cameras rather than push them.
Still, these men are brothers. They are the least likable characters of this NFL season because they have little sense of those around them and because they can't hide their obsession for money.
Both eventually will get some cash. There's always a market for an All-Pro receiver, and there's always one for an NFL franchise. But just as the next team will be wary of Owens, the next city will be of Benson, too.
Such as San Antonio. When Benson comes back to negotiate — and he will — will South Texas voters want to subsidize a new stadium for him?
This is about how emotion enters into the business of sports, and the Eagles feel that today. Taking back Owens might have made football sense. But the franchise never felt better than when it rejected him even after he finally repented.
It can be a strong emotion on the field, too, because subtracting Owens will add locker-room energy. The Cowboys will lose to this power Monday night in Philadelphia.
San Antonio city leaders will feel less emotional when it comes to Benson, because they will see this as business. They will continue to go after Benson, just as he will continue to listen. Even if the Saints are forced to Baton Rouge next season — and there are no guarantees that will happen — Benson will be back to negotiate.
Going to Baton Rouge in 2006 might even help Benson's case. If ticket sales continue to be as down as the Louisiana economy, won't Paul Tagliabue have to let Benson do what is right for his business?
Benson will ask for more than a touch-up of the Alamodome. Last spring, after all, Benson said a $174 million proposal to renovate the Superdome wouldn't be enough.
So if a $174 million renovation of the Superdome fell short, what about a San Antonio dome that cost about that much to begin with? Benson won't come here without a commitment for a new stadium, as well as a list of other demands.
That's why Phil Hardberger's public pronouncement that he is against a stadium didn't ring true. Did he recruit the Saints without a clue about the cost? Art Modell moved his franchise to Baltimore, for example, after being promised the use of a new stadium rent-free for seven years, revenues from skyboxes, parking and concessions and a $75 million bonus.
These perks are how and why sports teams move, and the Hornets went through the same before they went to New Orleans. The owner, George Shinn, had so alienated everyone in Charlotte that a new arena was rejected. Only when he left did the city's mood change, and the Spurs played Wednesday night in the glow of the Shinn-less Bobcats.
There's such a huge financial investment to these deals that an emotional investment is required, too. Shinn and Modell found acceptance in other cities that were more consumed with their franchises than their flaws.
But Benson's flaws aren't regional. His story is too national and his image too familiar to this area. His caught-on-tape tiff in Baton Rouge added to that. He couldn't have been a better villain had Drew Rosenhaus orchestrated it for him.
Even Shinn has had a better understanding of how to handle a franchise's evacuation from New Orleans. He's never going back there, but he continues to act as if that is the goal.
Benson, instead, has come across as a cold, uncaring opportunist. And his history in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina doesn't suggest this is a new trend. He was always angling for a better Superdome deal with a car salesman's approach, squeezing more and more with every negotiation.
Bottom-line emotion: Is this someone you would vote to reward knowing he might do the same to you?
San Antonio voters would have a hard time going for a $500 million stadium bill no matter who the NFL owner was. The Alamodome still sits here, just a little more than a dozen years old, and the city will always have other needs.
But when the prospective partner is Benson? The T.O. of owners
Link to story... (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA111005.1C.COL.FBNharvey.saints.84bf98f.html)