Field of Schemes: No New Orleans-lovers wanted

October 19, 2005

No New Orleans-lovers wanted

If you're still wondering whether Saints owner Tom Benson plans on bolting New Orleans as soon as possible - or at the very least, using the threat of a move to spark a bidding war for his team's services - you might want to have a chat with Arnold Fielkow. On Monday morning, Fielkow was the Saints' top exec, a good enough pal to Benson to have served as an usher at his boss' wedding. By Monday afternoon, he'd been summarily dismissed. What happened? Fielkow has his suspicions, telling the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "If I was terminated because of my beliefs that the Saints should be back in New Orleans and be part of the city's rebuilding effort, then I can live with that." This is only going to get uglier.

COMMENTS

I said this the day after Katrina struck. San Antonio Saints..... That's the reason why MLS expansion in San Antonio was killed off....
Posted by: Bertell Ollman at October 19, 2005 02:00 PM

ESPN is reporting that the New Orleans mayor is saying he wants the NFL to give him the "Cleveland Plan". That being where the city keeps the team name and colors and gets an expansion team when the city is finally rebuilt if the Saints leave.
Posted by: Mase at October 19, 2005 04:18 PM

The "Cleveland Plan" was nothing more than a "plan for Cleveland".....
Posted by: Bertell Ollman at October 19, 2005 09:50 PM

Yes, but saying, "Cleveland Plan" puts an impetuous on the league to do it, otherwise it wouldn't look fair.
Posted by: Ty at October 20, 2005 01:32 AM

The "Cleveland Plan" was a specific plan for the city of Cleveland. Call it a 1 time deal.
Posted by: Bertell Ollman at October 21, 2005 05:07 PM

---- "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."
Posted by: Bertell Ollman at October 24, 2005 12:30 AM