SAN ANTONIO, Texas, 1 January 2006 — New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson and National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced here Friday they have agreed on the hurricane-displaced team returning to Louisiana in 2006.
Players and office staff were told Friday that the team will return to its training facility in Metairie, Louisiana, in mid-January. Emergency management officials used the facility to coordinate relief activities.
Benson said he hopes to play the Saints home schedule at the Superdome next year, claiming the stadium could be ready to host NFL games again by September.
“We are working in Louisiana to play as many games as possible in the Superdome, which may be ready in September,” Benson said. “We are told that the Superdome could be ready for play as early as Sept. 15.
“Many complex questions still need to be resolved in this area, and we expect to have answers to these scheduling questions early in the off-season.” The Saints operations were shifted here in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the American Gulf Coast area four months ago.
“Our facility will be fully staffed and open for player use on a regular basis by mid-January,” Benson said. “We are committed to coming back and resuming our role as community leader.” Damage to the Superdome forced the Saints to play home games in San Antonio’s Alamodome and at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, a backup site for next season if the Superdome is not ready in time.
“Every effort is going to be made to play as many games as we can in the Superdome, but it’s too early to say,” Tagliabue said.
The Saints began their nomad season 2-2 but have lost 10 of their past 11 games and conclude the season Sunday at Tampa Bay with an outside chance at claiming the top pick in the 2006 NFL Draft with a loss to the Buccaneers.
“There is a lot of hard work for us ahead, but the spirit of rebuilding in New Orleans, we are wholeheartedly committed to making the Saints better than ever — that’s on and off the field,” Benson said.
Tagliabue met with players, many of whom were critical of the struggles they have suffered during their dislocation, being bumped out of temporary training areas after some of them lost homes in the devastation around New Orleans.
Saints lineman Wayne Gandy compared Tagliabue’s end of season arrival to speak with players to a public relations move much the way US President George W. Bush visited New Orleans often in the weeks after federal relief efforts were criticized.
“The guys just feel like he let us down,” Gandy told the San Antonio Express-News. “Today is the last day of practice and that’s almost four months since we’ve been here. And at no point in those four months did he find the time to stop by.
“It almost feels like it’s just a PR move at this point.” The newspaper reported the league might help the Saints with giving the club extra shares of visiting teams’ gate receipts and help the club with enticements to lure free agents to a team and area that has been disrupted.
The NFL is also working to help the Saints with scheduling considerations for 2006. The Saints already know they will play home games against NFC South division rivals Atlanta, Carolina and Tampa Bay plus San Francisco, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Washington.
The Saints’ lease agreement with the Superdome includes an escape clause with a Jan. 15, 2007, deadline that would allow them to leave without penalty.
ESPN has reported that Benson has said the club will lose $45 million this season and he would prefer a permanent relocation to San Antonio, where he has other business ties.
Tagliabue and league officials have stressed they do not want the Saints to turn their backs on New Orleans during its recovery efforts.
Fans booed Benson over relocation fears at the Saints’ first game at LSU this season.
