June 06, 2004
Saints shortfall to grow
It turns out that the state of Louisiana's shortfall in payments to the New Orleans Saints, pegged at $7.1 million this year, is expected to grow to $15 million by 2009. The first order of business, says State Senate Finance Committee chair Francis Heitmeier, is to come up with this year's missing cash by July 5: "We owe the $7.1 million; we have to come up with the money. The state of Louisiana cannot default on its contract. If we do, we will not be able to tell any business to come to Louisiana." Gov. Kathleen Blanco now seems resigned to dipping into the state's general fund to help pay off the Saints, after originally being dead-set against the idea.
If you're wondering why the state of Louisiana is paying an NFL team to play in a state-owned facility - usually tenants pay landlords, not the other way around - you're not the only one. "I think it's unfair that when this agreement was renegotiated that there was not a lot more vision about what kind of financial straits this would cause for the state," said State Sen. Kip Holden.
