Forced to find a new place to play their home games, the New Orleans Saints would prefer to play close to home. The Saints said Sunday three options are being considered: LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La; the Alamodome in San Antonio or at the stadiums of all their opponents.
From general manager Mickey Loomis to coach Jim Haslett to star receiver Joe Horn, the entire organization seems to want to relocate to Baton Rouge, which is only about 75 miles from New Orleans yet did not sustain anywhere near the kind of damage from Hurricane Katrina that ruined the Superdome.
“If we can uplift anyone, obviously that’s worthwhile to us,” Loomis said. “We’re representatives of the people of Louisiana and the people of New Orleans.”
The team has moved its day-to-day operations to San Antonio and will begin practicing in the area Monday.
Loomis, Haslett and Horn all agreed staying there and playing games in the Alamodome would be better than having to play all 16 games on the road.
The Saints already are down for nine as NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue has moved their home opener to Giants Stadium, home of their foe, the New York Giants.
“After talking to all the people yesterday I know that the fans want us to be as close as possible, so LSU would be the best choice,” he said.
Haslett said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue “put us behind the eight ball” with the decision to play at the Meadowlands in Week 2. Loomis said Sunday the Saints are planning to keep their temporary headquarters and practices in San Antonio all season, regardless of where they end up playing their home games. Everyone involved in the organization, and their families, fled New Orleans a few days before Katrina hit. It was evident soon after the storm that the Superdome wouldn’t be available for this season.
Tiger Stadium holds almost 92,000, although there might be issues of whether the turf can handle LSU games on Saturdays and Saints games on Sundays.
Several coaches and players visited Kelly on Sunday. Loomis said the first person their caravan came across was a former team employee whose son now works for the organization.
The man was taken back to the team hotel, where he was to be reunited with his son. Their names were not immediately released.
The Alamodome seats about 60,000 for football and has only a few dozen of the moneymaking luxury suites teams crave, part of the reason the nation’s eighth-largest city has never been a serious candidate for getting a team via expansion or relocation.
Loomis also announced that the team is creating a relief fund for the hurricane victims. He said Saints owner Tom Benson and his family would make the first donation.
“We are still the New Orleans Saints,” Loomis said.
“Our commitment to our city is stronger than ever. We want to be on the forefront of rebuilding our city. We’ll play this season with the same toughness and resiliency of the people of New Orleans.