J. EDMUND BARNES

I’ve written two previous commentaries concerning the ongoing negotiations bet-ween the state and the Saints. To summarize: the Saints are misguided and unrealistic in their demands, and their options are limited to staying in New Orleans or leaving for the west. The Saints have demanded they be guaranteed a new stadium, preferably at the location of their choice, and massive amounts of money. The state has countered with the promise of guaranteed revenue through naming rights and the prospect of a new stadium sometime within the next 10 years. Now the frustration that was always shielded from the public has finally broken through, and the whole thing has gotten ugly. It’s about time. The rest of us have just about had all we can stand between the Saints and the state. We have sat by an watched the Saints make unreasonable demands upon a region that was lucky to get a professional football team in the first place. The Saints said Wednesday that they have put their final offer on the table. Foster countered by saying the state is always ready to negotiate. It seems that this whole mess has moved into the end game. Good. Better to have the Saints move to Mississippi or parts west than to have them waste public money on another stadium. I think Saints owner Tom Benson is a good person. I think his decision to keep the Saints in New Orleans during the dark days of the organization was outstanding and selfless. But now I have my doubts as to whether he has been negotiating in good faith. So we had a winning football team last year. We already have two stadiums in the center of the city. The question that has been asked, and needs to be asked again and again, is do we need a new stadium? And with that question comes others: Does a winning football team justify the destruction of an entire neighborhood for a stadium? Does a winning football team justify the cost of the infrastructure improvements to the interstate that would be necessary to support the new stadium? Does one winning football season justify a new stadium? In my humble opinion, there can be only one answer to all those questions: no. No. NO.