Offseason News of the Year II
This blog is gradually turning into a Saints only blog, thank God for my music interests.
Louisiana, Saints drop exit clauses; team obligated through 2010
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — State officials and the New Orleans Saints have agreed to toss out contract exit clauses that would have let the NFL team leave Louisiana within the next four seasons.
"For the foreseeable future, Louisiana's team will keep marching to victory right here," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said at the Gov.'s Mansion on Monday, announcing the latest developments in ongoing negotiations to keep the Saints in New Orleans.
The contract had allowed the Saints to opt out of its current deal with the state by repaying about $70 million the state has provided in inducements to the team. But the Saints will drop that termination clause, and the state will eliminate its ability to exit the contract.
Those changes to the contract keep the team in Louisiana through the 2010 football season, Blanco and Saints officials said.
Both sides agreed to continue negotiating on a long-term agreement that could keep the Saints in New Orleans beyond the current contract.
Saints owner Tom Benson "is committed over the next four years to get a long-term deal done here and to stay here forever," said team spokesman Greg Bensel.
The current agreement with the Saints, a $186.5 million contract, was negotiated in 2001 by former Gov. Mike Foster's administration and involves making annual payments to the team on top of other subsidies through 2010.
Those state payments will continue. Blanco said she didn't agree to give the Saints any more money — but ongoing upgrades to the Saints' home stadium, the New Orleans Superdome, will continue.
Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the Superdome in 2005. The state repaired the domed stadium and plowed another $185 million into improvements and upgrades long sought by Benson.
Benson was in Phoenix on Monday for the NFL owners' meeting and was not at the Gov.'s Mansion for the announcement of the contract changes.
Louisiana, Saints drop exit clauses; team obligated through 2010
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — State officials and the New Orleans Saints have agreed to toss out contract exit clauses that would have let the NFL team leave Louisiana within the next four seasons.
"For the foreseeable future, Louisiana's team will keep marching to victory right here," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said at the Gov.'s Mansion on Monday, announcing the latest developments in ongoing negotiations to keep the Saints in New Orleans.
The contract had allowed the Saints to opt out of its current deal with the state by repaying about $70 million the state has provided in inducements to the team. But the Saints will drop that termination clause, and the state will eliminate its ability to exit the contract.
Those changes to the contract keep the team in Louisiana through the 2010 football season, Blanco and Saints officials said.
Both sides agreed to continue negotiating on a long-term agreement that could keep the Saints in New Orleans beyond the current contract.
Saints owner Tom Benson "is committed over the next four years to get a long-term deal done here and to stay here forever," said team spokesman Greg Bensel.
The current agreement with the Saints, a $186.5 million contract, was negotiated in 2001 by former Gov. Mike Foster's administration and involves making annual payments to the team on top of other subsidies through 2010.
Those state payments will continue. Blanco said she didn't agree to give the Saints any more money — but ongoing upgrades to the Saints' home stadium, the New Orleans Superdome, will continue.
Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to the Superdome in 2005. The state repaired the domed stadium and plowed another $185 million into improvements and upgrades long sought by Benson.
Benson was in Phoenix on Monday for the NFL owners' meeting and was not at the Gov.'s Mansion for the announcement of the contract changes.
posted by fuel52 at 1:12 PM
3 Comments:
I think it's interesting that the NFL is such big business that the state has to pay *them* to stay here.
Hopefully I'll come into about 500 million dollars soon, and I'll buy the Saints...if that happens, I'll give you the choice of being coach or GM
The point of me owning the Saints is that it would guarantee that the Saints never leave N.O.
I'll take coach...
But really, deals similar to this are done all the time for major business in america by state governments. The bottom line is if the state is taking in more than they are giving out, it's a good business deal. And the experts agree that the state takes in more than it gives out in regards to the New Orleans Saints.
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