Saints Moving To San Antonio NexT Season?

MeanGreen61 · October 24, 2005

San Antonio is team's likely home next season

ESPN.com news services

Saints owner Tom Benson declared this week that nothing will be decided on the franchise's future until after the season. But ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that, based on information from key league sources, the team has probably played its last game in New Orleans.

According to Mortensen, San Antonio is a likely home for 2006 and Los Angeles is the preferred destination beyond that. The NFL could still include New Orleans as a Super Bowl site when the city is reconstructed, and expansion might even be a possibility, but that's 10 to 15 years away.

Full article

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2201514

Edited October 24, 2005 by MeanGreen61

Monkeypox · October 24, 2005

The people of San Antonio don't want the Saints.

axis · October 24, 2005

Not really fair to the people of New Orleans, but that's how it goes

I kind of hope they do something like they did when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore years ago and force the team to take another name so that if there is an expansion team in New Orleans it could go by the Saints, but I guess it is not all that important.

Rudy · October 24, 2005

That sucks. New Orleans should have a pro football team.

UNTFan23 · October 24, 2005

That sucks. New Orleans should have a pro football team.
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It should? Based on what?

good_ken · October 24, 2005

Los Angeles shouldn't have a pro team. If multiple franchises have failed in a city; they shouldn't be given a 4th chance.

NTEagle08 · October 24, 2005

I kind of hope they do something like they did when the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore years ago and force the team to take another name so that if there is an expansion team in New Orleans it could go by the Saints, but I guess it is not all that important.
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Only thing is that if the Saints do relocate whether it be LA or San Antonio, the city of New Orleans will never get another team. The NFL won't expand past 32 and no team I don't think is hankering to move to the city of New Orleans. Season ticket totals before Hurricane Katrina were pretty pathetic, and the team was probably going to have hard time at the gates if Katrina hadn't have hit the gulf coast area.

H-towngreen · October 24, 2005

There is no way NO gets another team, whether relocation or expansion. The mayor comparing NO to Cleveland is like comparing NT to LSU. I lived in Cleveland when the team left and also when they returned. If you want to see true football fans go to the banks of Lake Erie. Sorry for NO though

eleazar · October 24, 2005

Being from New Orleans and a life long Saints fan of course I am going to chime in.

In response to UNTFan23 why don't they deserve a team? They have maintained a team there for the past 38 years. The Saints are the representative NFL team for the gulf region so it's not fan base is just measly little New Orleans. Is it because they are no good? If that's the case then why did the Mavs deserve to stick around, or UNT for that matter. We haven't been shattering the attendance records.

and to H-towngreen. I don't see how you can say that the saints don't have "true fans". It speaks volumes that a franchise that has done so poorly since its existence still sells out games consistently. Heck, the fans themselves have started a foundation which is trying to fight the move by the owner by different means including commercials to get the message out. That's why you have seen news about them in PTI, Around the Horn, etc. Those shows have emailed the fans back saying they were going to respond.

/rant off

Here's the point by point breakdown of the New Orleans situation:

1. Tom Benson (the owner) wants to move to San Antonio because the state of LA didn't want to give him money for new stadium

2. Tagliabue wants a team in LA in order to create a larger profit margin through TV markets, not because of fan support

3. The Saints, Colts, Jags, and Vikings were all considered teams that could move to Los Angeles

4. Katrina hits, Tags says that Saints won't leave

5. Benson doesn't want to wait for 600 million dollar insurance check for the superdome to pass so wants to move the team

6. He wants all games moved to San Antonio but another high member of his staff, Feilkow, and Tags push for 4 games in Baton Rouge

7. Benson cuts off ticket lines to Baton Rouge and makes it nearly impossible to get tickets to tiger stadium, meanwhile, dumps vast amounts of money into promoting san antonio games. (all of this done in secret so that it looks like there are no saints fans in LA. In fact, he had to give out 8,000 tickets to the san antonio games just to make it look better)

8. Benson states that the practice facilities are all damaged beyond repair so the team can't move back.

9. Feilkow whistleblows about this and gets fired

10. News crews go to practice facilities and find that it is in pristine condition

11. Sources now state that benson wants to move the team.

The natural inclination is to go with Los Angeles because that is what the league wanted. I doubt that the owners would vote to approve a move to San Antonio because it is just a lateral move to an area that already has fans of other NFL teams i.e. the Texans and Cowboys.

The bottom line is money. The league wants larger TV revenue, Benson wants money period. He changed his tune pretty quick when the mayor of San Antonio said Benson would have to pony up the money for the Alamodome to have suites put in and since that statement, NOW the team is said to be moving to L.A. We'll have to wait and see....

PlummMeanGreen · October 24, 2005

Mr. Tom Benson

c/o the New Orleans Saints

New Orleans, Lousiana

Dear Mr. Benson:

I know way too much about America revolves around money--who has it/who don't/who might get it/who won't BUT.............if it is true, Mr. Benson, that you are a Texan by birth, then you should lose your Texas birth-rites over this possible idea of yours of jumping off the ship when it appears to be in sinking mode if you (in deed) move your team out of New Orleans, sir, especially now. The timing of this could not be any worse.

I'm sure Mr. Art Modell would welcome this move on your part, Mr. Benson, because you can then take his place and take the award of "NFL Chump Owner of the Decade Award" away from him, of which I'm sure you would be its recipient hands-down.

So please, Mr. Benson, don't kick the Big Easy when things have been Big (time) Difficult these days on the Louisiana Gulf Coast and for its people of which your birth state has tried to play a small part in helping many, many of them get back on their feet in this the toughest time of their lives; by the way, many of these displaced Americans here in Texas are the very ones who used to fill the Super Dome to watch your team (and add to your coffers).

Your franchise's situation, sir, now kinda' reminds me of a college coach I know of who gets kicked around when his team is having tough times. Not always sure what kind of friend one would make when times get tough for the other friend who is down-trodden and in despair, Mr. Benson. So, sir, if its true that you began your life as a Texan, please don't tell anyone and thanks in advance for that.

Sincerely......

PS And its like that old saying goes that I used to hear from my own Texas HS football coach, Mr. Benson: Tough times don't last---but tough people do. Do the right thing, sir.

GMG!

Edited October 24, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen

Arkstfan · October 24, 2005

Sad situation, but...

New Orleans is only the 43rd largest media market.

If New Orleans does experience a drop in population...

5% drop makes them the 51st largest media market.

10% drop makes them the 52nd (big gap between Jax, Fl and Austin between 52 and 53).

New Orleans economy is heavily tourist dependent. They are looking at a number of years before the tourist economy rebounds, so you are looking at lower median incomes and lower employment for the next several years. That means lower disposable income and NFL ticket sales are dependent on having a large population base with disposable income. Potential local sponsors are most likely going to be using their cash reserves to be rebuild or to just weather a period of reduced revenue. Spending on NFL sponsorship will be a low priority.

San Antonio is the 37th largest media market. There are only a handful of larger markets that don't have an NFL team and of them, like San Antonio, are located close to another NFL franchise.

To move to LA requires a new stadium. The LA folks never got a real stadium proposal together, that's why the Texans are in Houston. The NFL had waited and waited and only upon giving up did they go with Houston. A new stadium is VITAL in LA, not just because of luxury seats and PSL licenses and all that jazz. It has to be smaller. The history of the NFL in Los Angeles is a history of television blackouts because of unsold seats. Obviously Fox doesn't want an NFL team in LA if that team isn't selling out because they go from showing games 17 weeks a year in LA to 9. At one point in the expansion campaign the talk was that an NFL stadium in LA would be sub-70,000 seats possibly as low as 60,000 seats with some talk of maybe going as low as 55,000 (which is what the Redskins had for decades) just to be sure of sellouts.

That presents a huge problem for the NFL. The consensus has always been that any team relocated to LA would have to be sold to a local owner. A local owner is unlikely to be able to pay a huge sum for an existing team because the ticket revenue isn't likely to be there to fund the premium required to get an existing team. Minneapolis-St. Paul is the #15 market with about 1/3rd of the TV households of #2 LA but the Vikings are likely to have a better cash flow in a good stadium than an LA team will have.

LA may be a good market for the NFL, but it has the earmarks of being bad market for the local owner.

Now back to New Orleans. Beyond the fact that a team is not likely to be viable there for a number of years you have the problem of what is next. With Cleveland the NFL quickly promised them they would be the next expansion franchise awarded. That may be politically needed with New Orleans but its not what the NFL discussed previously. The last time Benson rattled sabers about moving the trial ballon the NFL floated was to give New Orleans a permanent spot in the Super Bowl rotation. Every year is unlikely but every other year or every three years is possible. The problem is again stadium. The Superdome lacks the number of luxury suites and other goodies that are required for a Super Bowl. Financially New Orleans would benefit more from regular Super Bowl hosting than it would from an NFL team. The NCAA gives every fourth Final Four to Indianapolis and post-9/11 that has been part of their disaster planning. The locals in Indy keep a group of dates open at the RCA dome in order to have it available if terrorism or natural disaster requires the Final Four to be relocated. A similar effort to get New Orleans on a one-in-four Final Four rotation with Indy would go a long way toward making a mega-stadium viable.

Personally, I think you see major league baseball in New Orleans before you see the NFL. Baseball has a couple of franchises in trouble. Las Vegas will get one and if New Orleans gets back on its feet, it will happen at about the time the owners are ready to approve a second move. New Orleans is a good baseball town. The Zephyers are well supported and between LSU, UNO, and ULL, college baseball is well supported in the region.

Tiger Eddie · October 24, 2005

I don't know if, where, or when Mr. Benson will move the Saints. But if he does, pray that the fine city of San Antonio doesn't get saddled with Mr. Benson.