You knw, this team is in no way going to make any money in new orleans THIS season or the next few seasons for that matter - you would EXPECT them to move.
the press makes a move to LA sound like a good thing, while a move to SA seems to sound like a SHAME? Thats the feeling i get from reading "in the wake of..."
It would be great to FINALLY have an NFL team here in the city, which I am positive we would support, but hell, if they decided to not move here and stay in Louisiana, thats fine too. they still have ties to the city and state, and they feel as heart broken as anybody else. In a business sense they have the option to stay alive and move elsewhere. Does anybody really blame them?
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Saints to San Antonio permanently?
Owner Benson reportedly mulling move in wake of Katrina catastrophe
NBCSports.com news services
Updated: 6:12 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2005
SAN ANTONIO - With the New Orleans Saints still seeking a home stadium this season after Hurricane Katrina has rendered the city and the Superdome uninhabitable, team owner Tom Benson reportedly is considering moving the franchise to San Antonio, Texas — permanently.
In response to the reports, published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Houston Chronicle, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said, "we're still the New Orleans Saints.
"Our commitment to our city is stronger than ever. We have many goals to accomplish, and one of them is to be a leader in the revitalization of New Orleans. We want to be in the forefront of making our city stronger.
"Our team is representing the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans, and we will take that responsibility seriously. We will play this season with the same toughness, determination and resiliency of the people of New Orleans."
The Times-Picayune even went so far Monday to publish an editorial virtually pleading with Benson not to move the team out of New Orleans permanently.
"The people of the New Orleans area "battered, grieving and homeless" are in desperate need of something to hold onto. Something to ease their broken hearts and nourish their spirits.
Saints owner Tom Benson can give them that something. He can choose, and we fervently hope he will, to play this fall's home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium."
On Sunday, the Times-Picayune quoted Louisiana Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, as saying he had spoken with Saints chief of administration Arnold Fielkow on Friday about Benson's possible plans.
Michot told the newspaper that Fielkow told him Benson was strongly considering moving the team to San Antonio.
We may lose them permanently," Michot told the Times-Picayune. "This is like pouring salt into the wound."
The Saints understand that the NFL wants to consider every option for the team’s home field this season since Hurricane Katrina ruined the Superdome.
In turn, the Saints hope the league understands how badly they want to play at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
From general manager Mickey Loomis to coach Jim Haslett to star receiver Joe Horn, the entire organization seems to be lobbying to play about 75 miles from New Orleans in Baton Rouge, La.
“If we can uplift anyone, obviously that’s worthwhile to us,†Loomis said Sunday. “We’re representatives of the people of Louisiana and the people of New Orleans.â€
Other options are the Alamodome in San Antonio, where the team is living and practicing, or playing all 16 games on the road.
“I hope they keep the games as close as possible,†Horn said. “For us to play, having to play, if someone could come and support us near where we were, it would be good.â€
The team has moved its day-to-day operations to San Antonio. They were to begin practicing in the area Monday, with Loomis saying that’s going to be the case all season, regardless of where they end up playing their home games.
Loomis, Haslett and Horn all said using the Alamodome would be better than playing all 16 games on the road. The Saints already are down for nine road games as their home opener has been moved to Giants Stadium, home of their foe, the New York Giants.
Haslett said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue “put us behind the eight ball†with that decision.
The Saints open Sunday at Carolina, then play at Giants Stadium on a date to be announced. Their third game is at Minnesota, so the first game still in flux is Oct. 2 against Buffalo.
Club officials and players are living in a hotel across the interstate from the Alamodome and will be practicing at the San Antonio Independent School District’s Spring Sports Complex, which was upgraded several years ago when the Dallas Cowboys trained in the city. The Saints practiced there last year while taking refuge from another hurricane.
Everyone involved in the organization, and their families, fled New Orleans a few days before Katrina hit. It was evident soon after the storm that the Superdome wouldn’t be available for this season, and likely many more.
Tiger Stadium holds almost 92,000, although there might be issues of whether the turf can handle LSU games on Saturdays and Saints games on Sundays.
The Alamodome is about 540 miles from the Superdome, making it more difficult for fans to reach. However, Texas is now filled with roughly 250,000 Louisiana refugees, including about 25,000 in San Antonio at Kelly USA, a former military base.
Several coaches and players visited Kelly on Sunday. Loomis said the first person their caravan came across was a former team employee whose son now works for the organization. The man was taken back to the team hotel, where he was to be reunited with his son. Their names were not immediately released.
The Alamodome seats about 60,000 for football and has only a few dozen of the moneymaking luxury suites teams crave, part of the reason the nation’s eighth-largest city has never been a serious candidate for getting a team via expansion or relocation.
Loomis also announced that the team is creating a relief fund for the hurricane victims. He said Saints owner Tom Benson and his family would make the first donation.
“We are still the New Orleans Saints,†Loomis said. “Our commitment to our city is stronger than ever. We want to be on the forefront of rebuilding our city. We’ll play this season with the same toughness and resiliency of the people of New Orleans.â€
© 2005 NBC Sports.com
