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this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Here's the link.. http://www.neworleanssaints.com/news...articleid=1401...
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04-27-2005, 06:02 PM | #1 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
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04-27-2005, 06:07 PM | #2 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
He said they should continiue to operate under the existing agreement, which means no renovation, no extra projects, just pay me the cash Mike foster agreed to until 2011 when the current deal runs out, although he said they will revisit after the season. It\'s better than the talk of moving that\'s for sure.
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04-27-2005, 06:15 PM | #3 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
sounds like he wants money agreed on. like howard......smitty
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04-27-2005, 06:41 PM | #4 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
So i guess we are held captive for another year
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04-27-2005, 07:21 PM | #5 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
Here\'s the problem with this: not talking is usually bad in negotiations.
The State really doesn\'t have the money to pay the Saints under the Foster agreement. We\'ll see if the State can come up with the money to pay the team. If they default, the team can move. If the deal expires without a new one, the team can move (essentially it\'d be a free agent). Here\'s the way I see it. Benson WILL NOT MOVE THE TEAM. His deal with N.O. is too good. Even after it expires, he\'s too cheap. San Antonion, LA, Portland - they\'re all possibilities, but none has a football stadium (except LA and the Colliseum is crap compared to the Dome. If the Dome isn\'t good enough, the Col. is crap.) Nor do they have practice facilities, a fan base, merchandising outlets, marketing, corporate sponsors, etc. The cost of moving can be huge to an NFL owner, and if Benson is too cheap to replace Haslett b/c it would cost him $6 million over two years, then there\'s no way he\'s going to spend the literally tens of millions to start over somewhere else. Of course, Benson probably won\'t be behind the wheel too much longer, and THAT is scary. Once Benson leaves, if the Saints don\'t have a long-term deal with the State, that\'s when things could get hairy. Who knows what his granddaughter might do. That\'s assuming that he actually hands the reigns to her and doesn\'t sell the team. If he sells the team we\'re screwed. I doubt that there is anyone in Louisiana with the half BILLION dollars or so it will take to buy the team. That means outside ownership and that\'s when things get bad. IMHO, the Saints aren\'t going anywhere in the next 4 or 5 years. But after that, if there\'s no long-term deal, I will be real worried about the prospect of the Saints staying in New Orleans. |
\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse
\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\" |
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04-27-2005, 07:55 PM | #6 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
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04-27-2005, 08:13 PM | #7 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
Pardon my ignorance, but I didn\'t think that the Alamo Dome was big enough to serve as an NFL stadium??? Am I wrong?
Also, does it have as many, more, less luxury boxes than the Super Dome??? I don\'t think Benson would move unless it was to a \"better\" stadium or to a place where a stadium was being built for the team. |
04-27-2005, 08:48 PM | #8 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
The Alamodome was built as a football stadium. When the Spurs played there, they put up this huge curtain with pictures of the Spurs players to cut it in half.
http://www.sanantonio.gov/dome/Football.asp They have been looking to put a football team there for years, and yes that do have more luxury suites then the Superdome. 4 Jumbotrons. A tailgate area. Like I said, it was built with the hopes of attracting a football team. |
04-27-2005, 08:53 PM | #9 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
Though I couldn\'t find an exact seating figure, here is an article about the Alamo Bowl that is played there.
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04-27-2005, 09:13 PM | #10 |
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An open letter from Saints owner Tom Benson...
Ummm
Looks like Benson blinked. |