Saints to remain in New Orleans through 2025

The Saints have announced that they will remain in New Orleans through 2025. The new deal will dramtically reduce the state's subsidy payments to the Saints; Governor Bobby Jindal claimed that, in comparison to the current arrangement, the new deal will save taxpayers more than $280 million over the next 17 years, with (read my lips) no new taxes to fund the deal.

Source: ProFootballTalk.com

God news for people in NOLA.

brakos82 said:

The Saints have announced that they will remain in New Orleans through 2025. The new deal will dramtically reduce the state's subsidy payments to the Saints; Governor Bobby Jindal claimed that, in comparison to the current arrangement, the new deal will save taxpayers more than $280 million over the next 17 years, with (read my lips) no new taxes to fund the deal.

Source: ProFootballTalk.com

God news for people in NOLA.

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Feh. They're still giving them money, just not as much. I am glad the Saints are staying though.

I really do think that an NFL team in LA is highly unlikely unless LA does what other cities do and publicly funds their stadium. The NFL isn't really losing money without a team there. NFL fans in LA still watch the games. The NFL still gets their ratings. And they sell more tickets in towns like Cleveland and Pittsburgh than they ever will in trendy LA.

LA is far too good of a bargaining chip. Every team can extort their hometown by threatening a move to SoCal unless the city bends over backwards. And inevitably the city, or some other town desperate for a mention on ESPN, will.

Now they just need to get rid of that dump the Superdome, and they will be set. My family in NOLA love the Saints, but hate the stadium.

LA does more good for the NFL without a team than they ever did for it with one. What's more the NFL is aware of this and understands how useful it is to have that city with it's unique combination of enormous size and tiny appetite for NFL football waiting in the wings. It's a gun pointed at the head of every city in America that has a team and wants to keep it.

I think it's very possible that there will never be a team in LA again. At least not until some other factor comes along to alter the equation we're currently working with today.

I'm surprised ownership agreed to such a long-temr deal as it's well known that the owner has wanted to move the franchise for some time even before Katrina, though I know the league is against leaving because of concerns about the bad PR if they were to vacate NOLA.
LA has lousy fans in terms of game-attendance but the market for merchandise is like 17 or 18 million - very temping for any NFL owner.

Dan B. said:

I really do think that an NFL team in LA is highly unlikely unless LA does what other cities do and publicly funds their stadium. The NFL isn't really losing money without a team there. NFL fans in LA still watch the games. The NFL still gets their ratings. And they sell more tickets in towns like Cleveland and Pittsburgh than they ever will in trendy LA.

LA is far too good of a bargaining chip. Every team can extort their hometown by threatening a move to SoCal unless the city bends over backwards. And inevitably the city, or some other town desperate for a mention on ESPN, will.

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Good point. I think a large reason of what you said about the ratings is that so many people who live in LA are from other cities and they still root and follow the home-town team.

False Start On # 69 said:

Now they just need to get rid of that dump the Superdome, and they will be set. My family in NOLA love the Saints, but hate the stadium.

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Meh, I can understand why some people think that, and it is an old stadium. Built in the '60s. Thing is, it's in the perfect location. Central Business District within walking distance to tons of great restaurants, shopping, French Quarter, etc. That's basically the thing that gets NO and the Superdome so many huge events, the atmosphere and overall experience it provides. There are a lot more geographical and logistical hinderances in NOLA to building a new stadium in a new location than most other NFL cities in that there's just not that much land close to downtown available.

Anywho, part of the deal is over $85 million to renovate the 'dome, which I think is the right thing to do. It's already been re-roofed and is in the process of being completely re-skinned. The new deal would widen the concourses significantly (which is the biggest thing wrong with the 'dome as it stands), add club level amenities, add seats, etc. It also includes significant development to the adjacent buildings, which used to be a big part of the game-day atmosphere.

In short, the SuperDome isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Senate has approved an essential part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's deal to keep the New Orleans Saints in the state.
There was little discussion about the bill Thursday before it was unanimously approved. It heads back to the House for approval of changes before it heads to Jindal.
The measure, which allows the state to lease office space from Saints owner Tom Benson, was already approved by the House.
Benson plans to buy and redevelop a vacant office complex and mall next to the Louisiana Superdome. The state agreed to rent office space from the Saints owner in a deal to funnel money to the NFL team while limiting direct cash subsidies.
In exchange, Benson agreed to keep the Saints in New Orleans through 2025.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4270566
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Interesting little side deal in the form of a sale-and-leaseback between the Saints and the state of Louisiana as a means of passing some of the Saints compensation thru to them for their promise to remain in the state.