RACK Tom Benson

The Assassin · Post by **The Assassin** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:14 pm

Nagin blasts Saints owner for trying to move teamAssociated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Mayor Ray Nagin disparaged Saints owner Tom Benson on Wednesday for working with San Antonio officials to permanently keep the NFL team in Texas.

The mayor's comments came after the departures of two top Saints executives who were supportive of keeping the Saints in Louisiana. Nagin is concerned that San Antonio officials said publicly that Benson is working with them to relocate the franchise to Texas.

"We want our Saints, we may not want the owner back," Nagin said while attending the reopening of Cafe Du Monde in the French Quarter.

"I'm ready to go to the NFL and to [commissioner Paul] Tagliabue and say, 'Give us the Cleveland plan,'" Nagin added, referring to the league awarding Cleveland an expansion team almost immediately after the Browns moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season. "Whatever the Saints want to do, you let them leave, but they can't take our logo, they can't take our name, and you give us a promise to give us a franchise when this city's back."

A Saints spokesman did not return a telephone call and e-mail seeking a response to Nagin's comments.

"For them to be openly talking to other cities about moving is disrespectful to the citizens of New Orleans, disrespectful to the Saints fans who have hung in with this franchise through 30-something years under very trying times," Nagin said.

The Saints joined the NFL in 1967. In 1986, Benson was part of an ownership group that bought the team to ensure it would stay in Louisiana. Benson eventually bought out other members of the group.

During Benson's ownership, the state of Louisiana has built him a new headquarters, including spending $6.75 million for an indoor practice field in 2003. The state also has paid for repeated improvements to the Louisiana Superdome at Benson's insistence during the past two decades.

On Monday night, Benson fired Arnold Fielkow, the team's top business executive since 2000. Fielkow had overseen a 36-game sellout streak at the Superdome and negotiated an unprecedented stadium lease that called for the state to pay Benson $187 million in direct subsidies over 10 years.

But Fielkow has said he believed the Saints needed to be leaders in New Orleans' rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina and repeatedly praised Saints fans in Louisiana as the best and most loyal in the NFL. Fielkow has since said that stance led to his dismissal.

On Tuesday, Conrad Kowal, senior director of marketing and business development, also resigned.

Nagin called Benson's recent actions a "doggone shame."

I'm torn on this one. For one officials really should be concentrating on rebuilding the city first. Fix homes,levees,pumps etc. Football should be down the list of importance right now.

HOWEVER...If Benson IS negotiating a deal to leave New Orleans he picked a pretty fucked up time to do it. Using the hurricane as an excuse to leave is chickenshit. It looks to me like the city and the state have bent over backwards to accomidate Benson and the Saints. I also dont feel the NFL will approve this move. Not as long as L.A is without a franchise.

ElvisMonster · Post by **ElvisMonster** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:06 pm

The Assassin wrote:...and repeatedly praised Saints fans in Louisiana as the best and most loyal in the NFL.

Those guys would still be waiting for their first sell-out if other NFL teams didn't travel so well.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:08 pm

ElvisMonster wrote:
The Assassin wrote:...and repeatedly praised Saints fans in Louisiana as the best and most loyal in the NFL.

Those guys would still be waiting for their first sell-out if other NFL teams didn't travel so well.

I thought the article said the saints had 36 sellouts in a row?

That is 4 1/2 years of sellouts. I don't think it was all visting team fans.

ElvisMonster · Post by **ElvisMonster** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:10 pm

Went to a Packer game there a few years back. Probably 40% of the place was wearing Green & Gold.

Trust me. You never have a problem getting seats for a Saints game.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:14 pm

ElvisMonster wrote:Went to a Packer game there a few years back. Probably 40% of the place was wearing Green & Gold.

Trust me. You never have a problem getting seats for a Saints game.

And 30-40% of the crowd at the Steelers-Bills game in Buffalo were Steelers fans. Some teams (like the Steelers and Packers) travel better than others. Do you think 40,000 Cardinals fans showed up when they played the Cards?

Just sayin, if you sell out for 4 years running AND con the state into giving up 187 billion, I think you've done your job as a Front Office exec.

Cicero · Post by **Cicero** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:21 pm

mvscal wrote:
The Assassin wrote: It looks to me like the city and the state have bent over backwards to accomidate Benson and the Saints.
...or so the spin would have you believe.

The city is fucked. There's no way in hell they can support an NFL team anytime in the forseeable future.

What is Benson supposed do? Just sit there and take it up the ass for the next 10 years?

I agree. That place is a shit hole and is going to be unable to support a franchise. San Antonio is a great choice. They have the best NBA fans and will probably be great NFL fans. The Mayor of New Orleans is a disgrace. He needs to worry about his city and not the Saints.

ElvisMonster · Post by **ElvisMonster** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:21 pm

I'm sure Tom Benson wants to move so that he can make less money. Good call, BSmack. You've changed my mind.

Cross Traffic · Post by **Cross Traffic** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:52 pm

Give New Orleans the "Cleveland Plan"? Ummm, what exactly have the Aints done in 40 years? Benson doesn't need NFL approval, Al Davis made sure of that.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 12:45 am

ElvisMonster wrote:I'm sure Tom Benson wants to move so that he can make less money. Good call, BSmack. You've changed my mind.

What does that have to do with him firing perfectly qualified members of his organization?

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:21 am

BSmack wrote:
ElvisMonster wrote:I'm sure Tom Benson wants to move so that he can make less money. Good call, BSmack. You've changed my mind.
What does that have to do with him firing perfectly qualified members of his organization?

Because those perfectly qualified members of his organization were pledging that his business would stay in that financial cesspool without getting Benson's blessing to do so.

In most situations, insubordination gets your ass reprimanded severely, if not fired.

ElvisMonster · Post by **ElvisMonster** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:18 am

I don't think at any point I condoned or condemned the firings of the execs. Nor do I think I at point you lauded or chastised the firings. Stay on subject, faggot.

Funkywhiteboy · Post by **Funkywhiteboy** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:27 am

mvscal wrote:What is Benson supposed do? Just sit there and take it up the ass for the next 10 years?

<(Insert "Deliverance" reset here)>

:twisted:

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 11:26 am

ElvisMonster wrote:I don't think at any point I condoned or condemned the firings of the execs. Nor do I think I at point you lauded or chastised the firings. Stay on subject, faggot.

OK, your point was the Saints wouldn't sell out if other teams didn't travel well. My point was that 36 straight sellouts can't ALL be attributed to the visiting teams.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:23 pm

BSmack wrote:OK, your point was the Saints wouldn't sell out if other teams didn't travel well. My point was that 36 straight sellouts can't ALL be attributed to the visiting teams.

I thought New Orleans was filled with poor people that had no money to evacuate.

But they could score Saints tickets, beeeyotch!!!???

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 2:55 pm

JHawkBCD wrote:
BSmack wrote:OK, your point was the Saints wouldn't sell out if other teams didn't travel well. My point was that 36 straight sellouts can't ALL be attributed to the visiting teams.
I thought New Orleans was filled with poor people that had no money to evacuate. But they could score Saints tickets, beeeyotch!!!???

Which is why they had no money to evacuate. Because they were spending their welfare checks on Saints ducats.

I'd argue with you, but you're just trolling.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:58 pm

During the 8 months I lived in New Orleans, I don't think I met a single Saints fan, or watched a single Saints game. Pro teams need the support of the suburbs, and nothing of that sort occurs in the area.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:39 pm

BSmack wrote:I'd argue with you, but you're just trolling.

Takes a troll to know a troll.

Seriously, do you actually believe any of the shit you post? You'd have to be pretty goddamn ignorant if you did. Please tell me you're just trolling too.

Headhunter · Post by **Headhunter** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:52 pm

Bsamck, I'll just assume you've never been to N.O.

The attendance isn't just visiting fanbase. It's visitors period.

Try going there for a game where the opposing team is close by (IE Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville) And the visiting team has more fans there by far.

Other teams and you get tourists period. N.O. has been a shit fan base for a long time. Benson has threatened to get the fuck out of there for years. And while popular opinion might be that he should stick by the city, I don't see anyone mailing him checks in the interim.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 4:56 pm

Nagin needs to shut the fuck up. Where the hell are they supposed to play? New Orleans and the NFL might have been good together a long time ago, but now, it's over. Move on.

Headhunter · Post by **Headhunter** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:03 pm

PSUFAN wrote:Nagin needs to shut the fuck up. Where the hell are they supposed to play? New Orleans and the NFL might have been good together a long time ago, but now, it's over. Move on.

Nagin is a piece of shit. Political affiliations aside, all that dude has done post Katrina is cry like a fucking girl.

I'm not a big fan of Bill White's (Houston Mayor) but he stepped up and handled Rita like a man. Hell, even Shelia Jackson Lee (who I despise) stepped up and did commendable work. N.O. has a shit mayor who likes to cry to the media. Fuck him.

How many other NO businesses are going to relocate post Katrina? Do we hear him bitching about those? Hell no. There's no media play if he cries about Oreck vacuums moving their headquarters.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:52 pm

Headhunter wrote:
PSUFAN wrote:Nagin needs to shut the fuck up. Where the hell are they supposed to play? New Orleans and the NFL might have been good together a long time ago, but now, it's over. Move on.
Nagin is a piece of shit. Political affiliations aside, all that dude has done post Katrina is cry like a fucking girl.

I'm not a big fan of Bill White's (Houston Mayor) but he stepped up and handled Rita like a man. Hell, even Shelia Jackson Lee (who I despise) stepped up and did commendable work. N.O. has a shit mayor who likes to cry to the media. Fuck him.

How many other NO businesses are going to relocate post Katrina? Do we hear him bitching about those? Hell no. There's no media play if he cries about Oreck vacuums moving their headquarters.

Oreck is staying right where they are. In fact, they've already resumed production. So why would Nagin be complaining about Oreck? Benson appears to be planning to take the money and run. Big difference.

The NFL has made a big PR deal about supporting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Katrina. For the New Orleans NFL franchise to get yanked flies right in the face of all that PR.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:57 pm

BSmack wrote:Oreck is staying right where they are. In fact, they've already resumed production. So why would Nagin be complaining about Oreck? Benson appears to be planning to take the money and run. Big difference.

The NFL has made a big PR deal about supporting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Katrina. For the New Orleans NFL franchise to get yanked flies right in the face of all that PR.

You ARE this ignorant after all.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:06 pm

JHawkBCD wrote:
BSmack wrote:Oreck is staying right where they are. In fact, they've already resumed production. So why would Nagin be complaining about Oreck? Benson appears to be planning to take the money and run. Big difference.

The NFL has made a big PR deal about supporting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Katrina. For the New Orleans NFL franchise to get yanked flies right in the face of all that PR.
You ARE this ignorant after all.

No, YOU ARE.

Helps Employees Rebuild Lives

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Oreck Corporation, headquartered
in New Orleans, LA, is taking measures to return as soon as officials notify
them it's safe to do so.

"Our business is strong and healthy," said Oreck President and CEO Tom
Oreck. "Since our corporate headquarters in New Orleans was devastated by the
hurricane, currently we are operating call center and administrative systems
out of temporary locations in Dallas, Denver and Atlanta," he said. "We
relocated groups of Oreck employees to these locations," he reported. "We are
in these remote locations not to make a new home, but to allow us to
ultimately bring everyone home."
"These temporary steps are critical so that we have the ability to return
to New Orleans," Oreck said.
"Our most important goal is to help our employees rebuild their lives,"
Oreck said. "If you are an Oreck employee and have not been in touch with us,
call this number: 888-528-0088 and we will help you."

"It is our intent to have our Long Beach, Miss. plant operational very
soon. We will continue to provide paying jobs for Oreck employees who lost
everything to Katrina," Oreck said. Oreck manufactures the popular 8-pound
Oreck vacuum cleaner, other floor cleaning products, air purifiers and
household and industrial cleaning products.

"My Dad, David Oreck, founded this company 40 years ago and I'm not going
to let a hurricane destroy what he created. We're in business, we're healthy
and we're available to help our employees in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast,"
Oreck said.

SOURCE The Oreck Corporation

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stori ... 429&EDATE=

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:27 pm

BSmack wrote:
JHawkBCD wrote:
BSmack wrote:Oreck is staying right where they are. In fact, they've already resumed production. So why would Nagin be complaining about Oreck? Benson appears to be planning to take the money and run. Big difference.

The NFL has made a big PR deal about supporting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Katrina. For the New Orleans NFL franchise to get yanked flies right in the face of all that PR.
You ARE this ignorant after all.
No, YOU ARE.

Helps Employees Rebuild Lives

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Oreck Corporation, headquartered
in New Orleans, LA, is taking measures to return as soon as officials notify
them it's safe to do so.

"Our business is strong and healthy," said Oreck President and CEO Tom
Oreck. "Since our corporate headquarters in New Orleans was devastated by the
hurricane, currently we are operating call center and administrative systems
out of temporary locations in Dallas, Denver and Atlanta," he said. "We
relocated groups of Oreck employees to these locations," he reported. "We are
in these remote locations not to make a new home, but to allow us to
ultimately bring everyone home."
"These temporary steps are critical so that we have the ability to return
to New Orleans," Oreck said.
"Our most important goal is to help our employees rebuild their lives,"
Oreck said. "If you are an Oreck employee and have not been in touch with us,
call this number: 888-528-0088 and we will help you."

"It is our intent to have our Long Beach, Miss. plant operational very
soon. We will continue to provide paying jobs for Oreck employees who lost
everything to Katrina," Oreck said. Oreck manufactures the popular 8-pound
Oreck vacuum cleaner, other floor cleaning products, air purifiers and
household and industrial cleaning products.

"My Dad, David Oreck, founded this company 40 years ago and I'm not going
to let a hurricane destroy what he created. We're in business, we're healthy
and we're available to help our employees in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast,"
Oreck said.

SOURCE The Oreck Corporation

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stori ... 429&EDATE=

Dumb fuck. The Oreck example that Hoontah threw out there was strictly rhetorical. No one was claiming that they actually were leaving New Orleans. Now you're melting down with links to provide evidence to disprove a point that was clearly a fictional example?

Yes, you really ARE that ignorant.

Feel free to shove an 8 lb Oreck XL up your ass.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:32 pm

Headhunter wrote:Bsamck, I'll just assume you've never been to N.O.

The attendance isn't just visiting fanbase. It's visitors period.

Try going there for a game where the opposing team is close by (IE Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville) And the visiting team has more fans there by far.

Other teams and you get tourists period. N.O. has been a shit fan base for a long time. Benson has threatened to get the fuck out of there for years. And while popular opinion might be that he should stick by the city, I don't see anyone mailing him checks in the interim.

Who cares who's making up the fanbase? In fact, if the fanbase is so heavily populated by outsiders, then the team ought to not have as hard a road back anyway. They will have the French Quarter open for business a hell of a lot sooner than the Lower 9th.

BTW: Benson is getting 187 million in direct public subsidies. So he is getting checks. He should STFU and be grateful for what he has.

PS: I'd remove JHawk from your jock. Just sayin.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:37 pm

BSmack wrote:PS: I'd remove JHawk from your jock. Just sayin.

pwnd

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:43 pm

JHawkBCD wrote:
BSmack wrote:PS: I'd remove JHawk from your jock. Just sayin.
pwnd

Add a thought of your own to this debate and we'll see. Untill then, you're just a non functional appendage to Hoontah's wardrobe.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:51 pm

BSmack wrote:Add a thought of your own to this debate and we'll see. Untill then, you're just a non functional appendage to Hoontah's wardrobe.

Whine like a little cunt after you have your ass handed to you on a platter much? Jesus, you're pathetic.

I added my takes on the subject early in the thread, you kicked your own ass in the process of debating the issue, and now you're trying to smokescreen your stupidity. Nice job.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:52 pm

mvscal wrote:
BSmack wrote:BTW: Benson is getting 187 million in direct public subsidies. So he is getting checks.
Not anymore he isn't.

He should STFU and be grateful for what he has.
It's his team. He'll do whatever the fuck he wants to with it.

I suppose he will. That doesn't make him any less of a scumbag. Oh, and as long as the Superdome lease is in effect, he's still getting that money.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 7:55 pm

BSmack wrote:Oh, and as long as the Superdome lease is in effect, he's still getting that money.

How much do you want to be that lease has been defaulted on, EF Hutton?

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:07 pm

JHawkBCD wrote:
BSmack wrote:Oh, and as long as the Superdome lease is in effect, he's still getting that money.
How much do you want to be that lease has been defaulted on, EF Hutton?

It hasn't. Google out front should have told you that.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:08 pm

mvscal wrote:
BSmack wrote:That doesn't make him any less of a scumbag.
Moving your business out of a moribund location makes you a "scumbag"?

4 years of sellouts is moribund?

If that's the case, why haven't Arizona and Oakland just blown away?

Headhunter · Post by **Headhunter** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:12 pm

BSmack wrote: Who cares who's making up the fanbase? In fact, if the fanbase is so heavily populated by outsiders, then the team ought to not have as hard a road back anyway. They will have the French Quarter open for business a hell of a lot sooner than the Lower 9th.

Yeah, that really brings in the Corporate Dollars.

I hope Tom Oreck needs 45,000 season tickets.

If you don't think corporate dollars are the most important source of revenue for a team owner, you need to start selling what you're smoking because it must be some good shit.

Two fuck faces from bumfuck egypt shelling out $90 for two tickets ain't gonna line anyones pocket.

Of course Nagin wants the team back. Don't think it's "City Pride" either. A few facts for you, so you can shove the $181 Million up your ass.

In 2002 the New Orleans Saints pumped a total of $402.17 million of new dollars into the New Orleans and Louisiana economies. That total was made up of $181.10 million of direct spending and $221.17 million of secondary spending.

Sounds like a $221 million dollar gain. Not a bad investment if you ask me.

Want to read more about why N.O. wants the Saints back?

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:xg ... ummary.doc

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:31 pm

mvscal wrote:
BSmack wrote:4 years of sellouts is moribund?
First off, the four years of sellouts is bullshit.

Second....THE FUCKING CITY HAS BEEN WIPED OFF THE FUCKING MAP, YOU RETARDED DOUCHEBAG.

Wrong on both counts.

Try again fuckface.

Sirfindafold · Post by **Sirfindafold** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:37 pm

Islamabad hasn't been wiped off the map either. They should be able to host NFL games next year as well.

hook'em up.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:16 am

Sirfindafold wrote:Islamabad hasn't been wiped off the map either. They should be able to host NFL games next year as well.

hook'em up.

Why not? They would be a better market than Phoenix. But not a fully funtioning New Orleans.

JHawkBCD · Post by **JHawkBCD** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:35 am

BSmack wrote:But not a fully funtioning New Orleans.

Which will realistically happen in, say, 2008 or later?

You can believe whatever sunshine Ray Nagin blows up your ass, though.

The Assassin · Post by **The Assassin** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 1:56 am

San Antonio is team's likely home next seasonESPN.com news services

Saints owner Tom Benson declared this week that nothing will be decided on the franchise's future until after the season. But ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that, based on information from key league sources, the team has probably played its last game in New Orleans.

According to Mortensen, San Antonio is a likely home for 2006 and Los Angeles is the preferred destination beyond that. The NFL could still include New Orleans as a Super Bowl site when the city is reconstructed, and expansion might even be a possibility, but that's 10 to 15 years away.

If the Saints relocate to San Antonio or elsewhere, New Orleans has only a slim chance of ever seeing another NFL team, according to a major sports consultant.

Marc Ganis of SportsCorp Ltd. in Chicago served as a consultant to Cleveland in 1996 when that city's NFL team moved to Baltimore and the NFL guaranteed Cleveland a new team and allowed the city to keep the Browns' logos, colors and nickname.

Earlier this week, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said he wanted the "Cleveland deal" if the team relocates. Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she supported Nagin on such a plan.

But Ganis questioned the strategy.

"If I were advising Mayor Nagin, I would have given him the same advice that someone should have given the mayors of Baltimore and Houston," Ganis said. "Hold on to what you have. Do everything you have to hold on to what you've got, because there's no certainty to what will come next or what will come at all."

Houston lost the Oilers to Tennessee and later got the expansion Texans.

Ganis said New Orleans is already viewed as a small market struggling to remain financially competitive -- and most NFL owners oppose expanding beyond the present 32 teams.

Cleveland provided stout support for its new team with corporate dollars and businesses that generated tax money to build a new stadium, Ganis said.

"It's not the people," Ganis said of New Orleans' situation. "It's not the individuals who show up at the game and buy the tickets. The people are great. It's the business, or lack of, that's the primary factor. For whatever reason, the area simply does not have many strong and large businesses."

But Ganis and two other sports consultants said the issue includes a wild card -- compassion for a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

"When it's all said and done, the whole situation boils down to one thing -- how do these 32 owners feel about resolving New Orleans while protecting their franchise value?" said David Carter, a sports consultant in Los Angeles.

Dean Bonham, a sports consultant based in Denver, questioned whether the NFL would support a move to San Antonio, which like New Orleans is considered a small market, or whether the NFL could strike a deal to build or renovate a stadium equipped for a team in Los Angeles.

If neither San Antonio nor Los Angeles is adequately prepared to support an NFL team, Bonham said the Saints will likely remain in New Orleans.

"I would have to say the chances are 50-50 or less that you'll see the New Orleans Saints move from one city to another at this point," Bonham said.

TenTallBen · Post by **TenTallBen** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 3:20 am

As a Louisiana resident I can honestly say I hope the Saints move far FARRR away. Any city that is dumb enough to take them deserves them. Good riddance. Fuck New Orleans and fuck the Saints.

T1B

RACK Tom Benson

RACK Tom Benson

Re: RACK Tom Benson

Re: RACK Tom Benson

Re: RACK Tom Benson

Re: RACK Tom Benson