Posted on 10/27/2005 6:35:15 AM PDT by robowombat
Saints Could End Up In L.A. Team, League Weighing Options
By Mark Maske and Leonard Shapiro Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, October 27, 2005; E01
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 26 -- The NFL will consider relocating the New Orleans Saints to Los Angeles if New Orleans is unable to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, three sources familiar with the league's deliberations on the matter said.
The NFL plans to return the Saints to New Orleans if the city demonstrates it can still support the team, the officials said. But they said the league is concerned that the area will not be able to fully bounce back and is thus open to the possibility of having the Saints play in San Antonio next season and then move permanently to Los Angeles.
The Saints have been based in San Antonio since being displaced by the hurricane in August, but the league has no interest in that city as a permanent home for the club, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no firm decisions have been made and the deliberations are at a sensitive stage. The NFL has been actively seeking to return to Los Angeles, the second-largest television market in the country, which has not had a franchise since the Raiders left for Oakland after the 1994 season.
"We're going to try to ride out the rest of this year the best way we can," a source involved in the discussions said. "They could very well spend another year in San Antonio. If you're looking at it long-term, L.A. is a no-brainer. But I also think we need to give New Orleans and Louisiana a shot. ************************
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Sorry I stand corrected.
When the Browns moved to Baltimore, I got PO'd that they changed their name. "Baltimore Browns" has a nice ring to it.
Oh yeah, that'll work. I'm sure the Los Angelinos will really embrace a team with the long winning tradition of the Saints.
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