Louisiana Officially Approves Lease To Keep Saints In State

Saints Could Receive Direct Cash Payments From State If Needed

Louisiana state legislators Friday formally agreed to lease office space in downtown New Orleans to Saints Owner Tom Benson, the "final piece" of a plan to keep the team in the state through 2025, according to a front-page piece by Michelle Millhollon of the Baton Rouge ADVOCATE. The agreement calls for Benson to purchase Dominion Tower, which sits near the Superdome, and in turn lease the space to the state. State officials said that the goal of the agreement is to "greatly reduce the cash that the state currently is paying the team as inducements for remaining in Louisiana." The state is "struggling to make the payments," which currently top $23M annually. The Saints still "could receive direct cash payments" from the state of up to $6M a year "if their revenue falls short" at the Superdome. Under a separate part of the deal, the Saints and the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition Authority, which oversees the Superdome, will "partner in developing the now-shuttered New Orleans Centre mall to create a 'sports entertainment' district" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 8/29). In New Orleans, Ed Anderson noted the deal also mandates that the state allocate $85M for Superdome renovations that "will be made during the next two years." The improvements will "expand the seating area by 3,100, add 16 pricey box suites and allow construction of 43 more concession outlets." Under the deal, Louisiana will not pay more than $6M annually in cash to the Saints "even if the team does not generate" a projected $12M more in revenues from the Dome (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 8/29).

SAINTS GO MARCHING IN: In New Orleans, Jeff Duncan wrote four years after Hurricane Katrina, "nearly everything about the Saints' organization has changed -- for the better." The post-Katrina Saints are "one of the great -- and most surprising -- success stories in professional sports," as the organization is "healthier now than ever." Nearly "every luxury suite in the Superdome is sold," while the season-ticket waiting list "numbers into the tens of thousands." Merchandise sales are at "record levels," and the team "boasts unprecedented star power" with QB Drew Brees and RB Reggie Bush, among others. Saints VP/Communications Greg Bensel: "We are in the best position as an organization as we have ever been in the 40-plus-year history of the organization. The progress we've made the last four years is unprecedented." Duncan noted the Saints have a "completely different perspective" than they did four years ago, and the "collective sense of purpose and direction in the organization has never been more positive." Bensel said, "I just have so much more of a positive feeling about the city and our organization than I did four years ago" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 8/30).