• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Los Angeles Saints?

#23
david meissner said:
bigbeefdog ...
this really has very little to do with Katrina , imo .
{not that i would dream of trivializing the damage and despair
the city is going through ...}
Benson has been saying for a few years now , that if N.O. didn't
cough up the money for a new dome , he was gonna pull out anyway .
again , i know he's just using S.A. as a ploy to get what he wants .
you'd probably be better off without him anyway .
Click to expand...

Not exactly. The state has always made certain that the Saints were in the top half of the league in terms of revenue, and the stadium was always filled.

In a peculiar move, during negotiations between the Saints and the state, our governor recently asked Benson to "open the books".... a poor negotiating ploy, to be sure, but the inference behind it was clear: the Saints were doing just fine in terms of revenue. In the top half of the league. Always. All this poor-mouth, we need a new stadium, we don't have enough luxury suites, etc. stuff was just a smoke screen.

So don't take that "we need a new stadium" BS as fact. It was mainly just negotiating noise (and it's worth mentioning that Benson fired his lead negotiator, who took a stand for keeping the Saints in NO, last week).

Katrina just added a BIG wild card. If the Saints leave New Orleans NOW, it's going to look BAD..... the word "looting" comes to mind....
 
#24
Bottom line--the Saints will never move to San Antonio permanently since SA is as much a small market as NO was/is/will be. The league would never take the publicity hit for moving the Saints to SA.

Now, it's no secret that the NFL has had a hard on to get back to the lucrative LA television market (not that LA has cared, really). For enough money (available in LA--not in SA), the league will take as much poop as you can throw in their faces.

Still--this is about as ugly an idea as I have seen. This will make Modell look like frikkin' Mother Theresa...
 
#25
Wasn't there talk of a possible move at some point for the Saints well before the hurricane struck? That would seem to suggest that this is an unfortunate case of a natural disaster expediting a move, which really is a shame, as the circumstances are really unfair. I know I would be beside myself if the Steelers ever left town.

From what I know, Benson isn't a well-liked owner, so I'm not terribly surprised to see this, but you Saints fans would definitely know more about the subject than I.
 
#26
bigbeefdog said:
All this poor-mouth, we need a new stadium, we don't have enough luxury suites, etc. stuff was just a smoke screen.
** it's worth mentioning that Benson fired his lead negotiator, who took a stand for keeping the Saints in NO, last week).

Katrina just added a BIG wild card. If the Saints leave New Orleans NOW, it's going to look BAD..... the word "looting" comes to mind....
Click to expand...

BTW , i agree with Carlos ,
i don't really want the Saint's to come to San Antonio ,
we've got enough " rich gettin' richer" scams going on without
having to worry about a new stadium and all the "good -ol'-boy" pay-offs...
but i still stand by my statement that it's going to happen anyway .

however , if , or when it does happen , i will embrace the Saint's as my
hometown team ...

IMHO ...
bassically , Benson is a PIG , and he's rootin' around , stirring up the muddy water , till he gets his way ...

i think most San Antonians have nothing but respect and love
for the people of New Orleans , { i include myself amoung these } ,
but bottom line , this IS a business .

money talks , BS walks ...


SomecallmeTim ...
my original point exactly ... good call .

peace ...
 
#27
SomecallmeTim said:
Wasn't there talk of a possible move at some point for the Saints well before the hurricane struck?
Click to expand...

There's *always* been talk of a "possible move" since Benson purchased the team. The stadium is too old, not enough suites and luxury seating, market's too small, not enough corporate support, blah blah blah. And Benson has always "flirted" with other cities as a negotiating tactic.

It's just the greedy 'ol car dealer's style.

None of that changes the fact that the team has always been profitable (top half of the league), and well supported... even through losing season after losing season.

Let the Saints go to LA, and hang about 3-4 years of 6-10 seasons out there..... see if they're still selling out the Coliseum after that.... :rolleyes:
 
#29
bigbeefdog said:
There's *always* been talk of a "possible move" since Benson purchased the team. The stadium is too old, not enough suites and luxury seating, market's too small, not enough corporate support, blah blah blah. And Benson has always "flirted" with other cities as a negotiating tactic.

It's just the greedy 'ol car dealer's style.
Click to expand...

Confirms my suspicions of the guy, I suppose. It really is a shame that the Saints have to operate under an owner like that.
 
#32
NJL said:
Well, nobody wants them!

:p
Click to expand...

Actually, it's because the citizens of the City of Green Bay actually OWN the team. There is no one over-egotistical jerk-off owner to need to earn more money than they can ever hope to spend.

Actually, I'd love to see the City of New Orleans pull something like this, somehow buy the team from Benson and then elect a board of trustees to run the team.

I dislike the Packers, but I really respect how the team is owned and operated.
 
#34
It really doesn't matter to me. Being born and raised in Lafayette Louisiana I have always been a SAINTS fan. If they move I will notbe a Saints fan. If New Orleans keeps them of get's another team then that's who I'll route for. Honestly if you look at all of the talent the SAINTS have had vs the little success they've ever had, Maybe that orginization should leave so that the City can bring in a new one...The NEW New Orleans SAINTS. I'll probably end up settling down in Texas though. I can see myself being a Cowboys fan. I actually used to route for Danny White and Tony Dorsett. I don't think I could be a Texans fan, so It wouldn't be bad inthe SAINTS followed me over to San Antonio. Too many of the players that I enjoyed watching have left, so I am not holding on to the team too much.
WHATEVER
 
#36
Not much to add....other than this: If Benson moves the team, I cannot put into words the kind of hate my children's children will still have for whatever the franchise turns into.

Mike

edit: Maybe I can put it into words. My grandchildren will burn him in effigy with the intensity of two suns.
 
#40
IF the NFL allows this travesty, they need to give New Orleans the same consideration that they did Cleveland:

The "Saints" are always from New Orleans, the team must get a new name in their new digs, and the NEXT expansion team MUST go to New Orleans, and they WILL be the Saints, logo & colors stay with the city as well.

Anything less would be criminal (as if the team leaving now isn't already :spit: ).
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back