Halo

Benson: You can't hang me and our club and expect us to be nice

06:31 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 24, 2005


WWLTV.com



Saints Owner Tom Benson fired back at naysayers in the press and the Legislature as he attended the NFL Owners meeting Tuesday in Washington.




WWL-TV

Tom Benson speaks prior to the start of the NFL Owners' meetings in Washington, D.C.

Benson, who has stayed largely silent in the face of some barbs from legislators and Governor Kathleen Blanco following his decision to cut off negotiations with the state, said the bad press has been hard to take.


“You can’t have people hanging me and our club all the time and saying the things that have been said about us, which are untrue, and expect us to be nice,� he said to a small gathering of newspaper reporters and Eyewitness Sports.


Benson said he has kept to the deal made by the State in 2001 and he expects the State to do the same.


“We’ve got a contract through 2010,� he said. “They’re the ones talking about breaking the contract. At no time did I say that we were going to leave or break a contract and I’m not going to say that now.�


Benson said he blames the bad economy for the fact that the team’s season ticket sales are woefully lagging. Current totals say the team has sold 25,000 for the upcoming season, versus 50,000 season tickets at the same time a year ago.


He also said that the bad economy isn’t helping, nor is an ‘out of date’ Superdome. But despite those issues, he said he has no intentions of moving.


“I don’t want to leave New Orleans and the people don’t want us to leave New Orleans, at least the majority of them. Unfortunately, we’ve got a lot of people that watch TV and maybe can’t afford to buy tickets.�

http://www.wwltv.com/sports/saints/s...2a878de88.html