I wish the tourism dollars could be estimated accurately to show this moron how much the Saints draw. I spend $700 to $800 or more (credit cards) when I come to town plus airfare and I know there are a lot of Mississippi people who come in too.

Not “caché”. Jeebus, guys, it’s French…you know, like Louisiana?

Sorry everybody…pet peeve.

Regarding Eddie, there’s probably some chemical company that wants to build a new plant and expects tax breaks from the state, and they won’t get them if Louisiana has to pay the Saints instead. Sorry, New Orleans: Gonzalez needs new and better ways to cut life expectancy (“What, that? That’s [hack choke] the smell of money!”).

Seriously though, I have to give Benson props for managing to get the State of Louisiana to subsidize his business. Not that I agree with it. Quite the contraty. There is something about that deal that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s essentially bribery. I wish we had an owner that would want to stay in Louisiana “because it’s the right thing to do.” (As I typed that, I realized how damn silly that notion is.)

I just wish the Saints wouldn’t have to be bribed to stay.

I’m pretty damn sure Texas doesn’t have to pay the Texans to stay. I guess it’s a result of the different economic situations of the two regions. I wonder if any other football team receives annual State payments? I’ll bet the Saints are the only ones.

A few years ago, pre-Katrina, I was one of the ones who wanted to see New Orleans build a new stadium. One more condusive to tail-gating. Now, I’m completely against the idea. Post-Katrina, I think the Superdome has the potential to become an iconic national landmark, on par with Lambeau. THE SUPERDOME"S HISTORY, COMBINED WITH A SAINTS SUPERBOWL VICTORY, WILL ACHIEVE THAT. Like I said, I don’t like the idea of the government susidising ANYTHING. The less government, the better. I do like the idea of the State “investing” in the Superdome, as an alternative to yearly pay-offs…er, payments. Upgrade the dome, invest in the dome, make it a world-class facility inside, because now, Post-Katrina, it is more than a stadium, it’s a symbol.

   Does Benson really need the coin? Really? The team is in infinitely better shape than it was when the agreement was negotiated, and the team has the entire Dome sold out for season tickets with tens of thousands on the wait list, a virtually new stadium (at least from the inside out) and a rabid die-hard fan base as opposed to those in Minnesota and Arizone who had to be persuaded to buy playoff tickets.

 Am I missing something? I understand a deal is a deal and the man should be paid the money under the deal in some form, but whey is the state still willing to pay the guy in the future after this one expires? I can think of our tax dollars being spent on worse things, especially with a Super Bowl bid in the offing, but sheesh