J. EDMUND BARNES

PHOTO: THE LOUISIANA SUPERDOME is central to the future of the New Orleans Saints. Meanwhile, state legislators, Gov. Foster and Tom Benson debate the ability of the Superdome to support the team into the 21st Century. (Staff Photo by J. Edmund Barnes) I’ve been paying a little bit more attention to the three ring circus that is our state capitol these past few weeks. Normally our fiesty legislative process would be a mere footnote on the week, one of those sections in the paper I would glance at and then turn to more important things, like sports or the funnies. But not this week. I have specifically taken an interest in the brewing Stadium Debacle. I call it a Stadium Debacle because nothing good can come from this; a true lose – lose situation for the city, state and team. This past week I did an interview with Eric Rodrigue about the grassroots organization he has founded to keep the Saints in New Orleans. Rodrigue believes to keep the Saints, the city needs to agree to build a new stadium within six to 10 years. Rodrigue believes if the stadium were to be built and the Saints were to be locked into a 25-year deal to stay in town, then there would be a net posititve effect upon the city, from increased revenues to a greater spiritual bond that the inhabitants of the city and state would feel for each other. I also asked Rodrigue to play the seer and guess the outcome of the Saints – stadium conflict. Rodrigue said he believed that the city would resolve the issue in such a way the new stadium would be built and the Saints would stay. He predicted that Tom Benson and the rest of the franchise would convince the city and state that the money from the stadium would help everyone out in the long run. Rodrigue and I agree on a lot of the details. We both want the Saints to stay in New Orleans. Both of us would be upset if the Saints packed up all of their stuff and left in the middle of the night as the did Browns a few years back. We both would like to see the Saints keep winning. But for the city to build a new stadium when the dome is still viable would be a massive mistake. It is not a matter of whether or not the Saints need a new playing field. It is a matter of civic responsibility towards the community. There are better ways to spend $500 million dollars. The Saints have come up with a novel approach to paying for the new stadium. In a day where everything new is old, they have suggested the tax that brought about the dome in the first place. The hotel motel tax would keep the burden off the ordinary people and on the very life-blood of the city- tourists. The rest of the money necessary would come from the NFL. My question is: what is stopping the city from taking this tax and putting it towards some areas that really need improvement? Yes, it would involve claim jumping the Saints revenue source that brought about the dome in the first place. I can imagine them being upset about that. But how much can or will they complain when those more than $300 million go towards literally rebuilding schools that are crumbling, or towards hiring new police officers to make the city streets safer, or even just fixing the city’s streets, streets full of potholes which rattle my fillings and shake my car’s suspension on my way to and from work every day. The dome is part of the city. It dominates the skyline. And while it isn’t as old as the Saints, it is as much part of them as the Saints are a part of us. And whether the Saints like it or not, it is one of the best places to play football in the country. The Superdome should remain the home of the Saints, not because the city won’t foot the bill for a new stadium, but because that money would be better spent elsewhere in the city. And as hard as it is for me to say this- as both a fan of the black-and-gold and as a sports-writer- if they don’t like that, maybe they would be better off elsewhere.