There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

Ah, congrats to everyone who voted to put Blanco in office. May as well kiss the Saints goodbye, or at least put in some money for their plane tickets to LA. Not 2 seconds after the Saints conference ended, she was on the mic speaking negatively on the proposed plan, and downplaying anything Benson offered. This woman democrat hasn't even received details or contingencies, and she's sticking her fat foot in her fat mouth. Thanks a lot to those who voted for her.

Jindal would have been a great governor.

Just found an article with some of the story:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/...enson001.shtml

http://www.2theadvocate.com/images/111804/13109_256.jpg




[Edited on 18/11/2004 by dberce1]

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

it sounds to me like the gov. wants benson to pay for everything...and forget the payments owed to him from the state...she is our worst enemy..as far as keeping the saints in new orleans..i\'m not sure if she really understands the positive effects of an nfl franchise on the local economy..much less the bottom line of the states finances..she better quit trying to be so cheap..or we will be without our team..if you live in or around louisiana...perhaps we should get organized..and voice our concern about this matter...it may help?

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

I think you fellas are barking up the wrong tree on this one. I agree with the governor. The state already had to borrow money to pays last years $15 mil payment to the Saints, and it increases yearly until what 2011, when it will be 23.5 mil? How do you propose the state meet this increase AND pay for dome renovations? Do you want your taxes higher? If the fans of the team were saying, \"Yeah, tax us out the wazzoo we just want the team to stay at all costs\" this would not be an issue. But Louisianians are notoriously famous for voting down tax increases for ANYTHING. SO where does the state find the money? In addition to Benson wanting to add tailgate areas and fields in the East for football amd all this other staff. Where was his out of pocket proposal for all these extravagances? This is still blackmail by Benson. Not only does he want continued payments formt he state until 2020, he wants the state to fund money for the renovations and all these other frills. The gov is right on this one. They need to go back to the drawing board, unless citizens of the state are willing to allow a tax hiek to cover all these things Benson wants.

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

I\'m not saying that Whodi. I agree, the concessions paid to Benson (if any) should be closer to 3-5 mill a year. Hopefully, with renovations, he won\'t need any at all. Who knows how the financing for renovations will go.

Point is, the Blanconator is quick to put crap out there, without any detail or negotiation. It\'s like she\'s trying to be the \"Governor of the People\", like \"I\'m not going to let this football team push us around\" type of mentality. Allrighty lady, then let them leave with the $400 mill a year they put into your miserable economy.

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

also.to say benson should pay for all the renovations is wrong i think..it is after all a state owned facility...i can see bensons side on that..to a degree...however..all the extra stuff outside the dome..i think should fall on benson\'s lap..state owned or not..either way..i just hope the deal can be beneficial to the state , and the franchise...i don\'t see how that could happenbut i do agree the dome has to have luxury booths..i mean..we host so many superbowls..its amazing we haven\'t had them allready

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

I am not saying Benson should pay for it all, but where was his proposal to pay for ANY of it?

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

Actually, I don\'t think the team went into specifics on any of the finances. They\'re gonna present something in 2 weeks. I\'m sure Benson will put up a nice chunk of his money, but still expect some from the state/NFL.

Scary though, the poll last nite on WBRZ, do you think the state should put up money/subsidize the Saints?

88% No
3% Yes
?% Don\'t Care

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

On a side note, what\'dya think the chances are of us finding some corruption dirt on ol\" Blanconator?? Blackmail?? Saints here to stay till 2080??

We can dream can\'t we.

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

Being a true Conservative/Libertarian I must state that if the people of Louisiana don\'t want to pay, they shouldn\'t. Put it up for a vote. It\'s a question of whether they want to provide incentives for a business that will end up making them much more money than they put in.

I\'ve read analysts state that the money they are asking for is a fraction of the money the Saints bring to Louisiana.

53 millionaires bring a lot of money into the city in both taxes and consumption. But if the state doesn\'t want it, the Saints should take a hike. From an economic impact my gut feeling is the state will lose much more money if they let the Saints leave than if they provide the funding requested. Its only my gut feeling because both sides are posturing right now.

My biggest gripe is the state\'s \"SLUSH\" fund, usually used for politicians pet projects, would easily cover the costs.

I\'d love it if they stayed, and believe its best for both sides, but would understand if they were told to take a hike.

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

The problem is a basic one - stupidity. This isn\'t an economic argument, b/c like Danno said, there\'s plenty of money to cover the Saints. The issue is politicians saying look over there look over there to protect their slush fund. Meanwhile, the idiots in the rest of the State hate NO and think the City should pay for the Saints (nevermind the Saints tax revenue goes to the STATE). Most importantly, the Governor is playing to morons who think, why should we pay a losing team? The issue could easily be resolved if, instead of paying the Saints, the state simply allowed tax breaks - b/c that\'s essentially what we\'re talking about. Benson is right for wanting money. If this poor-a$$ dumb-a$$ State wants me to stay here rather than go to a much larger and more lucrative market, they damn well better give me a reason to stay. Just think, Minnesota and Indy are in similar situations and both are larger and wealthier markets. Meanwhile, business leaders are crying about the Convention Center expansion - news flash, tourism and conventions are DOWN in NO. If you can\'t fill the space you\'ve got, why build more? Stupidity... I\'ll bet you anything that if the Saints were 7-2 right now Blanco wouldn\'t have a leg to stand on... and record means nothing at all in this debate.

There'll be no stability with Blanco
 

I don\'t live in the state, so I\'m a little outta the loop here, but I was wondering if the Saints staying/leaving ever came up during the campaign? I asked my girl, and some of her friends & family who live down there, and they all said they didn\'t know. All I remember is seeing the campaign signs all over the place last season and wondering where that Jindal guy was from (he\'s from ... India?).

Looks like somebody needs to get back to the drawing board. If not, hey, a bunch of idiot Birmingham politicians keep clamoring for a dome stadium here in town (news flash, we ain\'t got anything to put in one if we had it) ... maybe the Saints will come here! :(