saintz08

Saints | Officials Huddle with Governor; No Deal Yet - from www.KFFL.com
Sat, 22 May 2004 10:02:41 -0700

Updating a previous report, Ed Anderson and Jeff Duncan, of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, report the meeting between New Orleans Saints officials and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco Friday, May 21, to discuss how the state will come up with the money it owes to the organization failed to reach an agreement. According to a released statement, \"Gov. Blanco and (Saints owner) Mr. (Tom) Benson met to discuss the current situation and have agreed to continue talking.\" The state determined they would be $1.7 million short on the $15 million obligation to the Saints that is due July 5. \"The state and us have a contract, \" Benson said. \"We\'re going to live up to our contract. I have no reason to think that they\'re not going to live up to their contract.\"

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo

saintz08

Saints solution search goes on

By DON HAMMACK


Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Saints owner Tom Benson met for 60 minutes or so Friday in New Orleans, trying to figure out what to do about that state\'s difficulties in meeting its financial obligations to the team.

In 2001, the state agreed to pay $186 million over a 10-year span. The money would come from taxes in the New Orleans area and Superdome revenues. You see, Louisianians outside the New Orleans area don\'t much like being forced to pay for toys for the state\'s largest city.

A large chunk of the incentives for the Saints were to be paid for with parts of hotel sales taxes in the New Orleans area. In the 10 years before the agreement, that revenue had grown at an average rate of 8 percent.

The funding for the incentive package was based on that continued growth, but the subsequent economic downturn was caused in part by terrorist attacks later in the year.

Not only has the hotel tax revenue not continued to increase, it\'s started to decline. That\'s forced what the state is now saying is a $7.1 million deficit in $15 million owed the Saints by July 5.

The numbers are less encouraging down the road, as the amount of the inducements increases, and there\'s been no sign the tax revenues will increase to pre-Sept. 11, 2001, levels.

That was the backdrop for Friday\'s meeting, after which Blanco and Benson issued a short statement saying talks will continue.

It was the first significant meeting between the Saints and the new governor, so there were question marks all around.

Potential resolutions may be found in options presented in a study prepared for the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, the state agency that oversees the Superdome and New Orleans Arena among its major obligations.

Options include:

• Pay the 2004 obligation from the general fund or alternative revenue sources as a short-term fix and put off addressing future payments.

• Find a new source for meeting the agreement\'s obligations, whether it be a new tax or money from the state\'s general fund, and keep the terms of the agreement as is.

• Pay what the state can before July 5, then use a 75-day grace period to negotiate a solution or face the possibility of the Saints moving without penalty after the 2004 season.

• Build a new stadium for the Saints, which is what they\'ve been after all along.

• Commit money to refurbishing the Superdome and restructure the Saints\' lease to reflect potential increases in their revenue streams from operating with better suites and other improvements.


For more reading :

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunhera...ts/8735220.htm

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo

saintz08

Saints | Governor Optimistic Over Payment Owed - from www.KFFL.com
Sat, 5 Jun 2004 11:11:15 -0700

Ed Anderson and William Kalec, of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, report Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco met with New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson for three hours Thursday, June 3, and is optimistic that the state will find a way to fulfill their financial obligation to the Saints. The state needs to find the remaining $7 million of a $15 million payment owed by July 5. \"We are hoping we can do that,\" Blanco said regarding next month\'s deadline. \"Today, I can\'t tell you that is an absolute certainty, but I am optimistic.\"

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo

whowatches

This doesn\'t look so good.

For the rest of the article:

http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index...4656287640.xml

gumbeaux

Why is anyone surprized is my only question? This happens everytime you get a Democrat in office? Except for Edwards, every democrat is against anything that takes money from their pet programs. I knew this would happen and she won\'t look very hard for the money either. The Saints will be leaving when she defaults. Our only hope is the legislature will step in.

Halo

http://www.blackandgold.net/site/mod...rder=0&thold=0

Read This!

saintfan

I agree with everything he said...except the part about Aaron Brooks. :P

saintz08

Tanker factory - Yes , Saints -No ???
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rail car firm makes U-turn to La.
Tanker factory will bring 850 jobs

Friday, June 18, 2004
By Robert Travis Scott
Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE -- Three months after scratching Louisiana off its list, a Chicago company Thursday made the largest heavy-manufacturing job announcement in the state in more than 20 years by pledging to build a $100 million rail car plant employing 850 people at an undetermined site.

Celebrating a rare economic development victory for a state desperately in need of new jobs and a more positive image, Gov. Kathleen Blanco told the Legislature that Union Tank Car Co. has signed a letter of agreement with Louisiana, which is offering an incentive package valued at $65.2 million.

\"I was tired of telling good jobs goodbye,\" Blanco said. \"We\'ve been feeling defeated for such a long time. I think we can look ahead to better times. This shows Louisiana can compete successfully with Texas and other states for those big jobs.\"

Although no specific location was named, economic development officials said the company has passed over the New Orleans and River Parishes areas and is focusing on two sites in central and northern Louisiana. Blanco said the company might announce the site early next week.

After a year or more for construction, the company will employ 700 people for manufacturing and 150 for professional positions to operate a half-mile-long facility turning out 70 tanker rail cars per week. Another estimated 150 jobs would be indirectly created by companies offering services and supplies for the plant.

The annual payroll for the project will be $30 million to $35 million, according to the Department of Economic Development. Though the company would not disclose salary ranges for the proposed positions, the economic development figures translate into average pay scales of up to $42,000.

Company officials did not comment but released a short statement acknowledging an agreement with Louisiana for a \"new state-of-the-art rail car manufacturing facility and professional administrative offices.\"

The statement said the expansion was prompted by increased demand for the company\'s tank cars. Union Tank will not consolidate its other manufacturing facilities as a result of the new plant, it said.


La. gets second look

The company spurned Louisiana during a multistate competition for the plant when it announced March 3 it was entering exclusive talks for 30 days with Texas for the project, which Louisiana officials called \"Project U\" as a code name. When the 30 days were up and the company still had not finalized a deal, Blanco contacted Frank Lester, the head of Union Tank, and followed up with meetings to persuade him to reconsider Louisiana.

On Thursday her persistence paid off.

\"Project U has made a U-turn into Louisiana,\" Blanco said. The state got the deal \"because of our diligence, our determination, our refusal to let this project go.\"

The 110-year-old family-owned company makes and leases railroad tank and covered hopper cars to companies that ship products ranging from corn syrup and beer to petrochemicals and fertilizers. With a fleet of more than 100,000 cars, it is the largest tank car lessor in North America.

Union Tank has plants near Chicago, Houston and Oakville, Ontario. It also has a repair and maintenance facility in Ville Platte, which it has pledged to keep as part of its deal with the state.

Linda Prudhomme, director of business development for the Port of South Louisiana, said the port district aggressively pursued the project for sites in each of the River Parishes. But the company apparently was concerned that the local chemical plants paid employees salaries so high that the tank car plant would not have been competitive drawing jobs.

Prudhomme and Port Director Joseph Accardo said they showed the companies studies demonstrating that the area has 8,000 underemployed people.

Still, she said, \"We\'re happy Louisiana got it no matter where it went.\"


Score one for Blanco

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpa...5632149320.xml

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo