GumboBC

Dome official says state intends to honor financial obligations to Saints

06:18 PM CDT on Friday, May 21, 2004


WWLTV.com



The State of Louisiana intends to honor its financial obligations to the Saints but the timing of the payment and where the funds will come from may need to be restructured, according to a representative of the Superdome who was in a meeting between club officials and Governor Blanco Friday afternoon.


The meeting was being held in a downtown New Orleans office and included Saints owner Tom Benson, Vice-President of Administration Arnold Fielkow along with Blanco, Doug Thornton of the Superdome Management Group and Tim Coulon of the LSED.


State officials requested the meeting after they said there wasn’t enough money from the hotel-motel tax to pay the $15 million owed the team from a deal worked out in 2001.


Thornton told media members that although the state does want to re-work the deal, it isn’t looking to change the financial terms. Thornton added that the shortfall may be just over $7 million as opposed to the much-talked-about $12 million figure.


According to Thornton, new sources of revenue need to be found to help make the payments, which balloon to as much as $23.4 million by 2009.


He said a $1.5 million payment to the Hornets would be made.

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