Louisiana not scared by Saints

By Matt Allen

Over the last few weeks, the city of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the Saints have been engaged in a bitter battle over the right of the Saints to get a new stadium. The Saints have contended that their current home in the Louisiana Superdome has left them with little ability to produce revenue or remain competitive in the ever changing and high dollar National Football League.

The city and state have thus far refused to budge on the issue of a new stadium, stating that renovating the Superdome would be a better way to go. The Saints have contended that this will not help them and they need a new stadium. The state of Louisiana has refused to concede, however, stating instead that they would like to discuss other proposals.

This has led to the Saints stating in recent weeks that there is a strong possibility that if they cannot get a deal done for a new stadium, they will leave the city of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans has refused to discuss this possibility, however, according to a city official that we spoke with, the city of New Orleans is not worried in the least that their team would go the way of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts.

"They have always been a New Orleans team and they are always going to be a New Orleans team," said the official, who spoke with Fanstop.com on condition of anonymity. "We are not threatened at all by the pronouncements that they will move from here. It is simply a case of someone trying to get what they want and trying to piss a line in the sand to get it. There is no imminent danger of the Saints leaving."

The Saints announced on May 2 that they were going to present a plan to the Louisiana state legislature for "a new world class stadium by 2006." The state countered on May 9, saying that a new stadium wasn't necessary for the Saints to remain competitive.

The next day, Fanstop.com reported that Saints owner Tom Benson had begun scouting stadium sites for a new home for his football team. Six days later, the state delivered in writing its formal denial of the Saints request. According to the official we spoke with, the firm position by the state should be reassuring to fans.

"We have held our ground because there is absolutely no way that the Saints are leaving," he said. "We know that this team is not going to leave this city, so we aren't going to play patty cake with them. We are not worried about idle threats, especially when the commissioner of the league has said he isn't going to let franchises relocate. We are not worried, therefore, we are not budging."

Negotiations between the Saints and the city hit a monkey wrench last Thursday and Friday, when District Attorney Harry Connick announced he was launching a probe into a deal about the Superdome made between Benson and former governor Edwin Edwards. A day later, Connick dropped the allegations and stated that the statue of limitations had expired. According to the official, the probe actually works in the favor of the state.

"He isn't going to go nowhere, because now it would look very suspicious," he said. "Yes, the negotiations embarrassed Tom, but it actually helped us, because it cast doubt into his integrity. He is not going to leave now, if for no other reason, he does not want the people of Louisiana to lose faith in him as a hero, which he has been here for sometime. The allegation helped us and again it reaffirms that we have no fear in the Saints leaving."

The Saints are as much a part of the crescent city as Mardi Gras. While they have threatened to leave, the official says that the blasts are just mere air. Let's hope for the NFL and the Saints that his words ring true.

Article courtesy of Fanstop.com