From: John Cuccia 

On Mon, 30 Dec 2002 18:50:19 -0600, Bill Lucy  wrote:

>Out of darkness, John Cuccia says...
>
>> I just wish he'd been successful in his attempt to lure the Saints to
>> Mississippi.
>
>Would that have been the Biloxi Saints? The Tonica Saints? The Oxford Saints?

The Central Gulf Coast Saints or somesuch.

>Seriously, what city in Mississippi could support an NFL franchise?

Even New Orleans is, at best, only marginally capable of supporting an NFL
team these days, given the local economy and the lack of corporate presence
in the city.

The Mississippians were talking about a location near the state line, maybe
50 miles from New Orleans proper, closer to the metro area; that would put
it about 80 miles from Mobile, maybe 120 from Jackson.  If I recall, the
overture was made by state officials, after which Lott said that he'd do
anything he could to help move the team.  I also think casino interests on
the Gulf Coast would help, they'd love to have an NFL stadium to help lure
the sucke...,er, customers to their hotels.

I don't know if they are/were serious, but Tom Benson has certainly used
their rhetoric as leverage while begging for a half-a-billion dollar
stadium to replace the Superdome (and extracting millions in other
"concessions" from Louisiana).

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