DMD Posted September 5, 2005 Author Share Posted September 5, 2005 This report says they still want to remain New Orleans (or close to it). What I heard was reported on CNN last night about San Antonio. SAN ANTONIO -- The New Orleans Saints understand that the NFL wants to consider every option for the team's home field this season since Hurricane Katrina ruined the Superdome. In turn, the Saints hope the league understands how badly they want to play at LSU's Tiger Stadium. From general manager Mickey Loomis to coach Jim Haslett to star receiver Joe Horn, the entire organization seems to be lobbying to play about 75 miles from New Orleans in Baton Rouge, La. "If we can uplift anyone, obviously that's worthwhile to us," Loomis said Sunday. "We're representatives of the people of Louisiana and the people of New Orleans." Other options are the Alamodome in San Antonio, where the team is living and practicing, or playing all 16 games on the road. "I hope they keep the games as close as possible," Horn said. "For us to play, having to play, if someone could come and support us near where we were, it would be good." The team has moved its day-to-day operations to San Antonio. They were to begin practicing in the area Monday, with Loomis saying that's going to be the case all season, regardless of where they end up playing their home games. Loomis, Haslett and Horn all said using the Alamodome would be better than playing all 16 games on the road. The Saints already are down for nine road games as their home opener has been moved to Giants Stadium, home of their foe, the New York Giants. Haslett said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue "put us behind the eight ball" with that decision. The Saints open Sunday at Carolina, then play at Giants Stadium on a date to be announced. Their third game is at Minnesota, so the first game still in flux is Oct. 2 against Buffalo. Club officials and players are living in a hotel across the interstate from the Alamodome and will be practicing at the San Antonio Independent School District's Spring Sports Complex, which was upgraded several years ago when the Dallas Cowboys trained in the city. The Saints practiced there last year while taking refuge from another hurricane. Everyone involved in the organization, and their families, fled New Orleans a few days before Katrina hit. It was evident soon after the storm that the Superdome wouldn't be available for this season, and likely many more. Tiger Stadium holds almost 92,000, although there might be issues of whether the turf can handle LSU games on Saturdays and Saints games on Sundays. The Alamodome is about 540 miles from the Superdome, making it more difficult for fans to reach. However, Texas is now filled with roughly 250,000 Louisiana refugees, including about 25,000 in San Antonio at Kelly USA, a former military base. Several coaches and players visited Kelly on Sunday. Loomis said the first person their caravan came across was a former team employee whose son now works for the organization. The man was taken back to the team hotel, where he was to be reunited with his son. Their names were not immediately released. The Alamodome seats about 60,000 for football and has only a few dozen of the moneymaking luxury suites teams crave, part of the reason the nation's eighth-largest city has never been a serious candidate for getting a team via expansion or relocation. Loomis also announced that the team is creating a relief fund for the hurricane victims. He said Saints owner Tom Benson and his family would make the first donation. "We are still the New Orleans Saints," Loomis said. "Our commitment to our city is stronger than ever. We want to be on the forefront of rebuilding our city. We'll play this season with the same toughness and resiliency of the people of New Orleans." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 Friend of mine that works for the Saints left for San Antonio yesterday. He got a message last Friday that basically said "Everyone to San Antonio." On another note, the Saints/Giants week 2 game will be played on Monday night. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2152569 The New Orleans Saints-New York Giants game will will be played as part of a nationally televised doubleheader starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 19. The game, already moved to the Giants' home in the New Jersey Meadowlands, will begin on ABC, then be switched to ESPN at 9 p.m., when ABC goes to the regularly scheduled game between Washington and Dallas in Irving, Texas. In New York and Louisiana, as well as other parts of the Gulf Coast, ABC will continue to carry the Giants-Saints game, switching to Redskins-Cowboys when the Saints game ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffian Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 LA can go to Hell and die when it comes to getting more sports franchises. S Fla too. 967915[/snapback] How do you really feel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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