EXTRA: Saints returning to Metarie and La. for 2006 season

[j-6]

I disagree. You don't have to think that all four of those cities are a threat, but thinking that SA gets to sit at the head of the queue after LA just because three Saints games were played there is asinine. All four have a higher population*. Two have just an NBA team as far as major pro sports go, and the other two have zero. And I'm sure some smaller areas like Oklahoma City and Birmingham will throw their hats into the ring on top of that. Remember, fifteen years ago Jacksonville wan't even a blip on the NFL radar.

If SA is proactive like Portland has been for its' MLB hopes and not sitting around waiting, then they might have a shot. Otherwise, it's going to depend on the franchise and what the owner and the league want. I wonder if Tagliabue was trying to set a precedent with Benson.

*I don't give a about what population statistics you use. This is from wikipedia and they're good enough for me.

[Extra Stout]

I disagree. You don't have to think that all four of those cities are a threat,

Two of them definitely are no threat: Orlando and Sacramento. Geography rules them out.

but thinking that SA gets to sit at the head of the queue after LA just because three Saints games were played there is asinine. All four have a higher population*.

SA enjoys a possible compe ive advantage for reasons unrelated to the Saints games.

Two have just an NBA team as far as major pro sports go, and the other two have zero.

Three on your list have NBA teams: Magic, Kings, Trail Blazers.

And I'm sure some smaller areas like Oklahoma City and Birmingham will throw their hats into the ring on top of that. Remember, fifteen years ago Jacksonville wan't even a blip on the NFL radar.

The impending failure of the Jaguars in Jacksonville has taught the NFL something about such marginal markets, especially ones where the college football presence is so great. And Birmingham has pretty much given up the whole pro sports thing for now.

If Vegas comes to some agreement with respect to gambling, that's an attractive market. And Portland now is large enough to attract both MLB and the NFL, but the logistics of attracting both at the same time... yeesh.

If SA is proactive like Portland has been for its' MLB hopes and not sitting around waiting, then they might have a shot.

In any discussion like this, the assumption is that San Antonio has visionary leadership in the public sector and in the business community that could make something happen. Without that, all this remains hypothetical.

[gameFACE]

The NFL is pretty peeved at your Mayor for running his mouth, and putting the league in the PR situation that he did, then tthe city encouraged benson to take the NFL to court publically...

Hardeberger isn't very tactical but Tagliabue did take the first shot at SA.

The Marlins with Wolff to deal with have a better chance of landing in SA than the Saints with Phil to deal with.

As for any other NFL possibility SA has to still take care of it's stadium situation. But the Saints not coming here is no surprise.

[Extra Stout]

The Marlins with Wolff to deal with has a better chance than the Saints with Phil to deal with.

As in, "infintesimally unlikely," as opposed to, "zero chance."

[TheWriter]

I suspect you're ignorant ass will still be crying about Vegas not being viable for pro sports teams when it's rolling out NBA and NFL teams.

Bring this thread back to life in 500 years. Because that'll be about the time that Vegas tasks pro sports off the books.

All Vegas is going to do is what they do for UNLV games - suspend betting on all games involving the whole team. I.E., when they get the next NBA expansion team, all games involving said team will not be on the books, but all other NBA games will be.

That doesn't work with professional teams.

All betting must be pulled from the boards.

I've heard the Maloofs go on about it. And I think they know a tad bit more than... you.

It's not rocket science, but apparently is too much for some of you "small town" South Tejas volk.

Better small town south Tejas volk than small north Texas .

[TheWriter]

Stern said that in order to be considered a future NBA market, all sports books in Nevada would have to voluntarily ban betting on NBA games.

Removing NBA games from sports books would be expensive for the casinos. In Nevada, $2.5 billion dollars is wagered yearly in sports books. Of that, $375 million is wagered on NBA games.

The NBA has been consistent in staying more than an arm's length away from legalized gambling. Before Toronto and Vancouver were given their franchises in 1995, Canadian provincial lotteries had to take all NBA games off the board.

AHF, it must suck getting benched in favor of "The Loser" Buddy Writer Holly.

[Extra Stout]

That's some P3WNage right there. Aggie may have to beat himself in the ass with an axe handle to feel better.

[Vashner]

Time to make another pro league and bring back the Gunslingers...

Sigh..

[j-6]

Two of them definitely are no threat: Orlando and Sacramento. Geography rules them out.

SA enjoys a possible compe ive advantage for reasons unrelated to the Saints games.

Three on your list have NBA teams: Magic, Kings, Trail Blazers.

The impending failure of the Jaguars in Jacksonville has taught the NFL something about such marginal markets, especially ones where the college football presence is so great. And Birmingham has pretty much given up the whole pro sports thing for now.

If Vegas comes to some agreement with respect to gambling, that's an attractive market. And Portland now is large enough to attract both MLB and the NFL, but the logistics of attracting both at the same time... yeesh.

In any discussion like this, the assumption is that San Antonio has visionary leadership in the public sector and in the business community that could make something happen. Without that, all this remains hypothetical.

The point isn't the merits of each city, or the fact that I forgot the Orlando Magic existed on an NBA team's fan website. It's that San Antonio needs to do all the things a prospective expansion candidate (even for a relocation) should do or they're going to get jobbed. Remember in the last expansion bowl the city has a year-old domed stadium and didn't even get out of the second round.

The National Football League has made it very clear that it doesn't believe to owe San Antonio anything. SA is not LA. The city is going to have to work to earn a place at the table and nothing will be accomplished by waiting around. Public committees, stadium plans, PSL's, whatever. As long as its public.

Ever wonder why a guy like Red who can afford to give $50 million to UT never moved the Vikings to South Texas, even with all of the Metrodome issues? Jesus, in Red's ownership tenure, the freaking Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and the LA Rams moved to St Louis, and each had been in their former markets for longer than the Vikings had been in existance. Not to mention that Bud Adams moved his team from right down I-10 to Nashville.New stadiums, naming rights, concessions, promises to build new offices and indoor training facilities, et al.

Just make the league forget that the Saints practiced at Burbank and lifted weights in a tent, OK? Plan ahead or fall behind, guys. That's all I'm saying.

[T Park]

Not suprising.

Hardberger supposedly will want to join Benson in taking the NFL to court to keep the Saints in SA.

But truth be told.

If I had a chance to get the Jaguars??

Id take the freakin Jaguars.

[exstatic]

j-6 Minny didn't get their ballot initiative done before the sex boat scandal. Word is that they didn't dare do it for a while or it would be a dead duck in that conservative Lutheran area. I agree with the Bolts possibly going (back) to LA. One wouldn't think that Buffalo would move, but Ralph Wilson isn't a young man by any stretch, and odder things have happened when teams are passed down in a family.

[my2sons]

liabue is giving la one year to get its together....he's not doing this for nola...he's going to prove what everybody already knows, that NOLA cannot support a football team in its current condition. they'll draw their 500 fans a nite and s will ck out the la market at the end of the season and if they show their california at ude of not wanting a pro team then sa is back in the mix. s is covering his ass by saying we tried but it can't be done and la has the ownership in place to take over the team. the beauty is that la could care less about pro ball and when they show their apathy then s can say sa you earned this team so you can have them for a year or two....

[SequSpur]

I've read some dumb ass comments in this topic.

First of all, the Saints or any other NFL team aren't going under. Are you ing re ed? After these new TV deals go into effect next season, most of these franchises will be worth a billion.

The Saints belong to New Orleans... They were here because of the ing hurricane. If there was no hurricane, they weren't going to come here....

Doesn't take a re to figure that out.

Now.... Benson, Tagliabue and the rest are now going into due diligence mode... my guess is that the Saints will be back soon unless the Government or the NFL pays the ing bills.

New Orleans is still jacked up. The infrastructure is not there to support an elementary school flag football team. I honestly don't think that the US government wants to unload billions to fix that place up either.

They might fix the levys, and highways, but only to process oil and like that.

Nobody hosed anybody. If you remember how the ducks fell in a row, then you understand why San Antonio and the Saints are where they are at right now.

If you think anything else, you're a ing idiot.

[TheWriter]

Remember in the last expansion bowl the city has a year-old domed stadium and didn't even get out of the second round.

Houston has a doomed stadium?

Wait, are you talking about Jacksonville and Charlotte? Niether of which have a domed stadium.

The National Football League has made it very clear that it doesn't believe to owe San Antonio anything.

No, but we'e more than proved we are a city that can support a football team.

SA is not LA.

Really?

Man lands on Moon you say as well.

Ever wonder why a guy like Red who can afford to give $50 million to UT never moved the Vikings to South Texas, even with all of the Metrodome issues?

Yeah, lack of city leadership both visually and mentality.

But you don’t live here so you wouldn’t know. You just want to display your “sports aficionado” like knowledge to the rest of us simpletons.

Jesus, in Red's ownership tenure, the freaking Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and the LA Rams moved to St Louis, and each had been in their former markets for longer than the Vikings had been in existance.

Jesus, just give it up kid. You know as much about sports as GiG knows about the female vagina.

McCombs bought the Vikings in 1998. The Ravens (Browns) moved in 1995 and the Rams moved in 1995.

Not to mention that Bud Adams moved his team from right down I-10 to Nashville.

You fail to understand how inept our leadership was during most of the poast relocations. Leadership that didn't care about bringing a team to SA because the Dome had the Spurs.

And when the Dome laid empty, we had a Mayor who pubicly said he didn't care about bringing a football team to SA and was more worried about the MLS.

Garza was a major reason Red never moved the Vikings to SA.

New stadiums, naming rights, concessions, promises to build new offices and indoor training facilities, et al.

Which I am more than sure that Hardberger and Benson will discuss these same things once the NFL season is over.

Just make the league forget that the Saints practiced at Burbank and lifted weights in a tent, OK?

Yeah, because we had ample time to somehow build the Saints a state of the art practice facility.

Maybe we should have just given them use of our super state-of-the-art and super secret NFL quailty practice center.

I think its right next to the Spurs practice facility, expect under the ground some 500 feet.

Plan ahead or fall behind, guys. That's all I'm saying.

That and you're as much an expert of sports as GiG is at having sex with women.

[exstatic]

The Saints belong to New Orleans... They were here because of the ing hurricane. If there was no hurricane, they weren't going to come here....

Sunday, May 01, 2005
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer

Will this be the last year of Saints football in New Orleans?
The possibility exists.

But it's highly unlikely.

Saints owner Tom Benson's decision Wednesday to break off negotiations with the state opens the door for the team to relocate to another city after the 2005 season.

The current agreement allows the franchise to leave Louisiana after the 2005 season by repaying the $81 million it received during the first four years of the deal. The club has a one-time, 90-day window after the 2005 season to invoke the exit clause and pay the penalty. If the Saints do not take the option, the current deal remains in place through 2010.

Benson has consistently said he wants to keep the team in New Orleans and eventually turn it over to his granddaughter, Rita LeBlanc, who is a team executive. Last month, he even offered to drop the team's exit clause if the state -- which has a one-time, 30-day option to cancel the current deal after the 2007 season -- would do likewise. State officials declined.

Article from 4 months BEFORE Katrina

[TheWriter]

Goodbye NFL — for now, at least

Web Posted: 12/31/2005 12:00 AM CST

Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer

The New Orleans Saints are leaving San Antonio after this season, but the city's NFL dreams won't be going with them.

If anything, they got even bigger Friday when league commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Saints owner Tom Benson emphasized in separate statements that the NFL's perception of the market has changed.

"San Antonio has nothing to prove to anyone anymore," said Benson, who announced his team would return to its training facility in Metairie, La., next month and likely would play its 2006 home schedule in Louisiana. "San Antonio is an NFL-caliber city. There is no doubt in anybody's mind anymore. The business community, the individuals and the New Orleans Saints proved that."

Calling San Antonio a "growing and changing market," Tagliabue made it clear the city earned points with the NFL by hosting the displaced team, which averaged 62,666 spectators for the three games at the 65,000-seat Alamodome.

"The sense I have is if we ever get around to considering expansion in the NFL, San Antonio would be on anyone's short list," Tagliabue said.

With that in mind, Tagliabue said he hopes to meet after the season with the city's business leaders and possibly Mayor Phil Hardberger in New York or another location.

"That's something we will be pursuing," Tagliabue said after meeting with Saints players, coaches and staff.

Hardberger, who's vacationing on his boat in the Gulf of Mexico, said in a statement that he would respect Benson's decision to return the Saints to Louisiana. The mayor had hoped to negotiate with Benson after the season for the Saints' permanent relocation to San Antonio.

"All along, this was going to be a decision made by the NFL and the Saints organization," Hardberger said. "Our city welcomed the Saints and supported them when they did not have a home. Our goal was to prove to the NFL that San Antonio is a city that is ready for a team, and we have done that."

The commissioner, who urged the Saints to return to New Orleans to aid in rebuilding efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, didn't rule out more games in San Antonio next season.

"Every effort is going to be made to play as many games as we can in the (Louisiana) Superdome," Tagliabue said, "but based on the information we have now, it is too early to tell if all the games will be there or for that matter in Louisiana."

Benson said the Louisiana state commission that manages the Superdome told him it could be ready for games by Sept.15. He said his team wants to play in one building after splitting home games this season between San Antonio and Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., where the Saints played four games and averaged about 40,000 fans.

"I should know in another 30 days whether we can play all our games in the Superdome," Benson said. "If it's not ready, we might be back in (San Antonio) on our bended knees asking the mayor if we could play a few games here."

Some observers believe Benson could be back in San Antonio after the 2006 season to flirt again with San Antonio. But he said he hopes to talk to Louisiana state officials soon about restructuring the Superdome lease, which runs through 2010.

"I talked to the governor today, and she told me the Saints coming back to Louisiana was the best news she's heard in a long time and that we would be meeting as soon as possible to talk about the future," Benson said.

Likewise, Tagliabue said the Saints' return is not a "one-year experiment." Still, he said it's not a "slam dunk" that the economically depressed New Orleans market can support an NFL franchise long-term.

"Our goal was to make it a multiyear effort," Tagliabue said. "But I have also said there are a lot of things that have yet to be accomplished before we can be certain that it will be a multiyear effort. That seems to be inherent in the whole rebuilding process.

"There are so many things that seem to be chicken-and-the-egg decisions: We can only do this if that is done, and this business can only come back if that's done, and if that business comes, it will have a positive ripple effect.

"It's a complicated situation, which is one of the reasons we are so appreciative of the support we got in San Antonio."

Tagliabue denied he league pressured Benson to return to Louisiana. He said it was Benson's decision and that the league's owners supported it.

"Like everybody else, Mr. Benson has been dealing with things that no one ever thought they would have to deal with," Tagliabue said. "He's been looking at different alternatives, thinking of all the pros and cons, both short-term and long-term."

Benson said he decided to return to Louisiana because the Saints "owe it to the fans and citizens of Louisiana to do our best in leading the effort to rebuild and revitalize New Orleans. Quite simply, it is the right thing to do at this time."

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/f....223b50aa.html

[MannyIsGod]

@ this thread.

Com'on now, it was nice to dream, but didnt many people predict this a long time ago?

[TheWriter]

I guess we can close this thread now.

Thanks Manny.

[MannyIsGod]

Well, I don't expect your wet dreams to stop anytime soon, but people told you this would happen when this first started, and you said it wouldn't. Now of course, you say you thought this would play out this way the entire time, and that the city will get a team in a different way or even from a different city. When that doesn't happen, you'll invent a new pipe dream and it will never cease.

So don't worry about closing this thread or any of the others you're bound to create.

[TheWriter]

Well, I don't expect your wet dreams to stop anytime soon, but people told you this would happen when this first started, and you said it wouldn't.

At first maybe, but not as of the last 3 months.

Now of course, you say you thought this would play out this way the entire time, and that the city will get a team in a different way or even from a different city.

Nope. Saints are still in the mix. As said by Tags and Benson yesterday. You'd probably know that if you weren't too busy parking my car.

And if you don't think San Antonio hasn't moved up in the eyes of the NFl, , the sports world via those three games, than you're nothing more than a big eared dingbat.

[sportsfann1976]

Hi guys, remember me?

Well, it looks like the Saints will be marching home after all. I knew it all along. I guess the San Antonio Saints banners didn't convince Tag. I have to admit, some SA ians were great and tactful at having our team play there but others, including your mayor, were blood sucking jerks ready to kick someone when they were down. To all those good SAians I say, I hope you get your own team, in the meantime you have the Cowboys. Afterall, yall wore their apparel to the Saints games anyway, right? To the others I say, ahhhhhhhhhhhh, tooooooo baddddd!!! The Saints are marching home for good!! Everyone that I know, including myself, is either in the process of moving home or are already home. So we WILL be able to support our team. You'll see, just like I said it before, but no one believed me. Oh well, you win some and you lose some! Happy New Years!

[MannyIsGod]

At first maybe, but not as of the last 3 months.



Nope. Saints are still in the mix. As said by Tags and Benson yesterday. You'd probably know that if you weren't too busy parking my car.

And if you don't think San Antonio hasn't moved up in the eyes of the NFl, , the sports world via those three games, than you're nothing more than a big eared dingbat.

Do you really want to make fun of my looks? I know what you look like, do you want me to start bagging on that?

[exstatic]

Hi guys, remember me?

Well, it looks like the Saints will be marching home after all. I knew it all along. I guess the San Antonio Saints banners didn't convince Tag. I have to admit, some SA ians were great and tactful at having our team play there but others, including your mayor, were blood sucking jerks ready to kick someone when they were down. To all those good SAians I say, I hope you get your own team, in the meantime you have the Cowboys. Afterall, yall wore their apparel to the Saints games anyway, right? To the others I say, ahhhhhhhhhhhh, tooooooo baddddd!!! The Saints are marching home for good!! Everyone that I know, including myself, is either in the process of moving home or are already home. So we WILL be able to support our team. You'll see, just like I said it before, but no one believed me. Oh well, you win some and you lose some! Happy New Years!

You didn't support your team worth a before the hurricane. Why should it be different now? Back for good? Better fill that dome bigger than you have in the past. Blanco is also going to end the subsidy in 2007. Look for some moving vans in Metairie about that time. It may not be to SA, but it WILL be out of N.O.

[MannyIsGod]

blah blah blah blah blah blah

Fix your damn levees.

[CrashMag]

Fix your damn levees.

If they do how do they get more FEMA money?????
It wont happen….


we will keep the fans not the team!!!!!