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Tagliabue: Saints unlikely to play at home
nfl.com ^ | 09/01/05

Posted on 09/01/2005 6:17:43 PM PDT by KevinDavis

NEW YORK (Sept. 1, 2005) -- NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue says it's unlikely the Saints will play in New Orleans this season after the devastation Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath inflicted on the city.

"At this point you have to proceed on the assumption ... that they may be unable to play in New Orleans at all for the entire season," Tagliabue said in an interview with CNBC.

"If things evolve in a positive way, then that would be something that we could adjust to. But our assumption is that for planning purposes, we should assume it will be difficult if not impossible to play in New Orleans at all this year."

The Saints will move into a hotel in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend and practice in San Antonio in preparation for their regular-season opener at Carolina Sept. 11. They have spent this week in San Jose, Calif., and played their final exhibition Sept. 1 in Oakland.

But it still hasn't been decided where they will play their home opener Sept. 18 against the New York Giants or play the rest of their games.

The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which runs Giants Stadium, has offered to host the upcoming Giants-Saints game there. It would likely be played Monday, Sept. 19, because the Jets will play Miami that Sunday at Giants Stadium.

Tagliabue said moving the game to New Jersey was one possibility.

He also said games could be played at another NFL stadium or at a non-NFL stadium. He didn't name any specifically, but the Alamodome in San Antonio seats 65,000 for football, about the same as the Saints' regular home at the Superdome in New Orleans, which was heavily damaged by Katrina.

Tagliabue, who announced that the NFL was donating $1 million to the recovery effort, added that the emphasis should be the total recovery of the region hit by the hurricane. So did Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association in a statement released, although Upshaw did not immediately say what form the union's help would take.

"We want to really emphasize above all that sport is a small part of life," Tagliabue said. "We want to use are visibility and the respect we have with the public and the respect our teams have to support the national recovery program. That's the big thing."


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: astrodome; katrina; neworleans; nfl; saints; sports
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To: independentmind
Of all of the offensive comments posted on FR about the hurricane, the ones are the worst are those that bother about such trivialities as the NFL football schedule.

So for how long must we avoid discussion of all topics other than the hurricane? One week? One month? What?

41 posted on 09/01/2005 6:48:49 PM PDT by NittanyLion
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To: KevinDavis

In other news: Pope prays for world peace.


42 posted on 09/01/2005 6:52:37 PM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: decal

If they DO leave for LA, SA, or wherever, they won't be coming back...

I agree.


43 posted on 09/01/2005 6:53:36 PM PDT by Oystir
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To: KevinDavis

Duh


44 posted on 09/01/2005 6:54:14 PM PDT by BlueNgold (Feed the Tree .....)
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To: KevinDavis

He's a sharp one, isn't he?


45 posted on 09/01/2005 6:54:37 PM PDT by Not A Snowbird (Official RKBA Landscaper and Arborist, Duchess of Green Leafy Things)
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To: KevinDavis

Stinkin' Giants trying to grab another home game.


46 posted on 09/01/2005 7:03:33 PM PDT by AbeKrieger (Islam is the virus that causes al-Qaeda.)
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To: KevinDavis

I bet no one will call them the "aints" this year.


47 posted on 09/01/2005 7:23:15 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative (France is an example of retrograde chordate evolution.)
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To: KevinDavis

For the first time, the Superdome actually smells worse than the team.


48 posted on 09/01/2005 7:25:03 PM PDT by TommyDale
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To: KevinDavis
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue says it's unlikely the Saints will play in New Orleans this season

It's unlikely that I will be elected Pope this year.

49 posted on 09/01/2005 7:26:24 PM PDT by jimfree (Do you think they'd elect a Protestant?)
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To: KevinDavis

I love the deep insight.


50 posted on 09/01/2005 7:27:48 PM PDT by stocksthatgoup (Polls = Proof that when the MSM want your opinion they will give it to you.)
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To: TommyDale; All

Sad but true...


51 posted on 09/01/2005 7:28:01 PM PDT by KevinDavis (the space/future belongs to the eagles --> http://www.cafepress.com/kevinspace1)
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To: KevinDavis
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue says it's unlikely the Saints will play in New Orleans this season

It's unlikely that I will be elected Pope this year.

52 posted on 09/01/2005 7:28:35 PM PDT by jimfree (Do you think they'd elect a Protestant?)
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To: NittanyLion

IndpendentMind is probably a soccor fan. LOL


53 posted on 09/01/2005 7:30:51 PM PDT by 11Bush (No outstanding felonies, but my life has been one long misdemeanor.)
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To: KevinDavis
  TAGLIABUE:


54 posted on 09/01/2005 7:33:26 PM PDT by Libertarian444
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To: decal
"Does Tulane have its own stadium?"

Wasn't the Sugar Bowl played there before the Superdome was built? At any rate, it does, but it faces the same problems as the dome...

Actually, Tulane does NOT have it's own stadium since the Sugar Bowl was 'inactivated' in the mid 70's and torn down in the late 70's/early 80's...Tulane has played their home football games mostly in the superdome with an occasional game at another outside stadium that is small and relatively new the past few years.

This is how I remember it as a Tulane alum from 1981....

55 posted on 09/01/2005 7:45:11 PM PDT by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: KevinDavis

Couldn't they use LSU's? The region certainly could use some vestige of normalcy and it would be good for morale.


56 posted on 09/01/2005 7:57:45 PM PDT by Dionysius (ACLU is the enemy)
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To: decal

Despite what the World Almanac may say, I don't think the Sugar Bowl is still standing. Tulane plays its games at the Superdome.

Mississippi -- Jackson/Starkville/Oxford -- are not NFL-sized stadia. LSU's home field in Baton Rouge is -- but yes, Benson has threatened for years to move the team.



57 posted on 09/01/2005 8:10:55 PM PDT by scrabblehack
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To: Acts 2:38
While it's a small detail right now, having a major league sports franchise is economically important. The recovery of the bayou area will be affected by the location of the Saints football team.

The location of the Saints this season will be revealing. They had been talking about moving if the Superdome wasn't replaced, anyway, and Louisiana was making cash payments to them to keep them in New Orleans.

If they want to stay in Louisiana, they'll try to work out a deal to play in Baton Rouge, at LSU's stadium.

Without New Orleans, There isn't enough of a fan base in Louisiana to support a team though, and the recovery of New Orleans is in doubt. Louisiana has about 4 1/2 million people, around one million of which lived in the New Orleans metro area, and which probably produced over half of the revenue for the state.

I can't imagine significant support for a new stadium anywhere in the state at this time. Financially, the state can't do anything right now.

Both San Antonio and Los Angeles are looking for teams. If the Saints play in either of those cities, I wouldn't be surprised to see the situation become permanent.

58 posted on 09/01/2005 8:20:17 PM PDT by Richard Kimball
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To: scrabblehack

Bought a car from a Benson dealership when we lived in Boerne NW of San Antonio and the kids received posters of Saints' players. He has been wanting to relocate with SA at the top of the list for sometime.

If they use the Alamodome, sure hope they have better artificial turf then the last game I saw played there in person.


59 posted on 09/01/2005 8:50:18 PM PDT by PhiKapMom (AOII Mom -- Allen in 2008)
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To: Ethrane
Well, at least there are probably going to be 10000 Saints fans already there...

Only if you count new refugees.

He didn't name any specifically, but the Alamodome in San Antonio seats 65,000 for football, about the same as the Saints' regular home at the Superdome in New Orleans

In most seasons, wouldn't a large high school stadium be enough to seat the fans?

60 posted on 09/01/2005 9:46:09 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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