NFL greed starting to do itself in?

[rcajun90]

http://www.chicagosportsreview.com/chicago/chicagoview.asp?c=168881

From players making way to much money to owners holding cities and states hostage to outragious ticket prices. Will the NFL finally do itself in? I use to be a die hard Saints fan until free agency. Players started to move around as ticket prices rose. I lost interest. At first I bought Bensons plans to the state and thought he really wanted to keep the team in the state. Perhaps the only Blanco got right was Benson. His real plan was to milk the state for about ten years till it was dry then move. I wonder who my local high school team is playing this weekend?

 

[insein]

Well whether the guy wanted to move this team or not, NO will not have the infrastructure to hold an NFL city for at least another 5 years. The stadium is shot. the roads and bridges are ruined. 90% of the people are without homes let alone spare cash to goto a Saints game. The saints were one of the worst franchsies in terms of attendance in the league. The hurricane simply sped things up in terms of Benson wanting to move the team. The saints will never play another game in NO.

 

[GotZoom]

It's like this anywhere. Unless you are someone like Mark Cuban, who has a bazillion dollars and truly likes being an owner (but I'm sure if the price was right, he'd sell or move) - nearly all team owners are in it for the business side.

They did something here in Memphis that people are totally amazed at. When the old Houston Oilers wanted to move, they were trying to decide on Memphis and Nashville. They determined that Nashville had a better demographic and more disposable income; therefore, more fans to the games. The NFL and owners just felt that the Memphis population couldn't support the ticket cost of 6 or 7 home NFL games.

Then the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA wanted to find a new home. Where did they come...with their 40 or so home games? Memphis.

Along with a new 250 million dollar arena. And...what is worse, the Grizzlies can dictate to the other venues in town what shows they can have and can't have. First right of refusal for everything, plays, concerts, etc... If it is on a night where the Grizzlies are playing at home, the Grizzlies can tell not allow them to come to Memphis for that night.

We lost so many good concerts because of that.

 

[Hobbit]

This is why I only care about the NCAA and the Super Bowl. Woooooooooooooooooooooooo, PIG SOOIE!!!

 

[rcajun90]

Well whether the guy wanted to move this team or not, NO will not have the infrastructure to hold an NFL city for at least another 5 years. The stadium is shot. the roads and bridges are ruined. 90% of the people are without homes let alone spare cash to goto a Saints game. The saints were one of the worst franchsies in terms of attendance in the league. The hurricane simply sped things up in terms of Benson wanting to move the team. The saints will never play another game in NO.

I agree that it will take New Orleans at least five years to get its population level back to what it was. The roads and bridges are not ruined. You can drive right by the Superdome on I-10 right now. The twin spans that you saw destroyed lead from Slidell to New Orleans. The Causeway is being used now. My wife starts working back in the French Quarter as a lawyer for the state in two weeks. I agree the Superdome is done and that people have bigger fish to fry around here than worry about NFL football. However the team could survive in Baton Rouge which now has a little over half a million people and the folks on the Northshore which has a quarter of a million. Not to mention Lafayette with now about 200,000 an hours drive. If he was serious about giving New Orleans a chance to come back he could survive in Baton Rouge.

You are wrong about the Saints and attendance. Considering the record of the team and the poverty level around here, I think the people supported the team beyond reason. Benson deserves to give us a chance unless he is simply a greedy SOB.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance