New Orleans mayor rips Saints owner Benson

Fox Sports ^ | 10/19/2005 | Associated Press

[LA Woman3]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Mayor Ray Nagin disparaged Saints owner Tom Benson on Wednesday for working with San Antonio officials to permanently keep the NFL team in Texas.

The mayor's comments came after the departures of two top Saints executives who were supportive of keeping the Saints in Louisiana. Nagin is concerned that San Antonio officials said publicly that Benson is working with them to relocate the franchise to Texas. "We want our Saints, we may not want the owner back," Nagin said while attending the reopening of Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter.

"I'm ready to go to the NFL and to (commissioner Paul) Tagliabue and say, 'Give us the Cleveland plan,' " Nagin added, referring to the league awarding Cleveland an expansion team almost immediately after the Browns moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season. "Whatever the Saints want to do, you let them leave, but they can't take our logo, they can't take our name, and you give us a promise to give us a franchise when this city's back."

[Clara Lou]

Nagin is an arrogant a$$.

[Orange1998]

ROFLMAO!!!! What a clown Mayor!!

[My2Cents]

Any resident of NO with any smarts would also make plans to permanently relocate to San Antonio.

[LasVegasMac]

The NFL should tell Nagin to go find the school bus parking lot.

LVM

[DaGman]

Not the first feud between San Antonio and New Orleans. Circa 1988 there was a big feud over the term "Riverwalk" after New Orleans opened its mall on the Mississippi. I forget the details but it was a big deal at the time.

[quantim]

I thought democrats didn't believe in 'Saints.'

[silent_jonny]

Didn't Nagin relocate to Texas too?

[Former Proud Canadian]

What is the population of New Orleans right now? I bet it is the smallest NFL city BY FAR. And far too small to support a franchise. Naggin shoud shut up and face reality.

[PlanoMike]

Nagin bought a house in Dallas the weekend after Katrina struck!!

[BurbankKarl]

I heard they short changed the company that was steam cleaning the Toilet-dome....

[discostu]

Benson has been trying to move the team out of New Orleans for a while, the window finally opened up all the way. And there isn't going to be a Cleveland plan, haven't seen any indication that the NFL has any further expansion on the table for a while, and if there is expansion it'll be international (those Mexico City games are making a lot of money).

[silent_jonny]

That's what I thought :)

I don't blame the Saints for leaving. What team would want to call the Superdome their home?

[BurbankKarl]

Was it Tom Benson's dealerships that the NOPD looted before Katrina hit?

[shadeaud]

If they do come to San Antonio expect Benson to demand that the tax base pay for the new stadium. If the previous mayor was still serving, he wouldn't have hesitated in backing a tax based referendum for construction of a pro football stadium and all the incidental expenses needed to enact such a deal. The Alamodome is not now nor will it ever be suitable for pro football.

[i_dont_chat]

Nagin's wife and children relocated to Dallas. They are renting a home. Apparently Nagin's brother-in-law lives there.

[discostu]

I thought the Saints were his only business interest in NO, that being part of the reason he wants to move the team. Could be though.

[caryatid]

"We want our Saints, we may not want the owner back," Nagin said ...

Make him an offer, Ray. There ought to be enough largesse in all those federal funds to be able to buy a football team...

LOL

[devane617]

Can we say "JAZZ"...

[kingu]

Sounds great, Mr. Nagin. Let us know if that goes anywhere. Meantime, if you're done playing around with the guys in tight pants, how about figuring out how to pay for all those school buses and public transit buses you let flood out because you couldn't be bothered to move them...