A Sign of Recovery?
In New Orleans, in late August and early September, we are a nervous people. It is the peak of hurricane season, but we are anticipating the arrival of something more nerve racking: football. In the years since Hurricane Katrina, the Saints have enjoyed success on the field and their return to the city in 2006 was a symbol of our fight to stay alive.
Though we love our Saints, they have not been without controversy, even in our Post-Katrina world. The initial renovation to the Superdome that allowed the Saints to come back to the city one year after the storm was viewed with skepticism and ire. These feelings were more than justified. The city’s infrastructure was non-existent and many felt that the biggest symbol of the storm’s terror should not have been such a high priority.
Fast forward to the eve of the 2009 NFL season. The Saints are enjoying their fourth consecutive year with every ticket purchased by a season ticket holder and tens of thousands on a waiting list. Before 2006, the Saints never sold out an entire season in advance. The NFL punishes teams, and their fans, by not broadcasting games to their local market if the game is not sold out before gameday. These “blackouts” were not rare in New Orleans before the storm. And although the NFL is the undisputed king of professional sports in the U.S., it is not immune from the ongoing recession. More than 10 of the leagues 32 teams are expecting blackouts this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that has been the subject of relocation rumors, are expecting all of their games to be blacked out this year. It is important to remember that Tom Benson bought the Saints in 1985 because then owner, John Mecom, was threatening to move the team to Jacksonville.
So while other NFL markets suffer in the recession, New Orleans, one of the smallest markets in the leauge is one its strongest. Is this a sign that our region is handling the recession better than other parts of the country? Perhaps, but the organization is still not without controversy. The city and the region are still in recovery mode. And earlier this year, the state signed a deal worth $85 million to renovate the Dome and keep the Saints in town through 2025. Many find this deal to not be in the best interest of the state. I have to agree. There are too many other priorities right now. But we are being told that the state will SAVE money with this deal. To be fair, directly due to this deal, the Super Bowl is coming back to the city in 2013, after more than 10 years, and that is promising for the city’s economy.
This issue will continue to be controversial. But it is also a symptom of a national condition. The new football stadium in Dallas had a price tag of over $1.5 Billion, a bill largely footed by taxpayers. The new stadium being built in New Jersey for the Giants and Jets is projected to cost over $1.4 Billion. Such deals hold communities ransom to their passions. In the absence of new stadiums, teams often threaten to move. Many, like the Raiders, Rams, Titans, and the original Cleveland Browns hold true to these threats. Luckily, the Saints gave up hopes on a new stadium years ago. And it is characteristic of our community to choose to renovate the Dome instead of building something new. But when the new deal runs out in 2025, what will they be seeking?
Enough of that. Bring on the Lions!