Saints looking to secure lease for up to 10 years

[The_Philster]

BATON ROUGE, La. -- New Orleans Saints executives have told the state of Louisiana they would like to discuss a Superdome lease extension of up to 10 years, the governor's chief of staff says.

"They have indicated an intention in putting to rest speculation" that they would leave New Orleans, Andy Kopplin said.

Kopplin said meetings with the team would likely begin soon after the July 4 holiday weekend....

more (http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0628/1574214.html)

[The_Philster]

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Gov. Mike Foster says it is unlikely that a new state agreement with the New Orleans Saints could be reached in the last six months of his term -- or that such talks would lead to a new stadium for the football team.

In a weekly taped interview distributed to television stations, Foster responded to reports that the Saints are seeking a fresh round of negotiations as a follow-up to the financial agreement he negotiated with the team and guided through the Legislature two years ago.

"I'm not about to negotiate anything that commits the state to any long-term agreements, or even that look like long-term agreements, unless it's something that's good for the state and the leadership of both the Senate and the House are totally on board," Foster said....

more (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/news/2003/07/02/saints_deal_ap/)