With the death of Tom Benson, his wife Gayle became the richest person living in the state of Louisiana and the owner of the New Orleans Saints, among other properties. Like her husband before her, she has continued the family tradition of extorting millions of dollars from the city and the state.
Knowing the local workers’ love of the football team, she has coerced the state to pay her $450 million to keep the team in New Orleans for another 15 years (and an ‘option’ for 15 more, meaning another round of extortion from whichever Benson is running things by then). As previously reported in the Workers Voice, this is a common tactic of privately owned teams and something Tom Benson did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as well, demanding a ransom of $23.5 million a year from the people in order to keep the beloved team from leaving town.
According to Gov. John Bel Edwards, Gayle’s ransom money will come from the state, from the Louisiana State and Exposition District (which is a state entity that runs the Superdome), and a portion from the Saints organization. It will be used to renovate the Dome. Already, the Benson family does not pay rent for their use of the state-owned building, claiming it to be a “small market” for sports in spite of the fact that the team sells out on season tickets almost every year for the 70,000+ seat stadium.
This money comes out of the pockets of the workers, and they will see none of it coming back to them. Improvements to the Superdome will mostly be enjoyed by those rich enough to afford tickets to see the team or the huge concerts that play there, not by the average worker, and most of the money will simply line the pockets of the Benson family. Those who work at the Superdome will continue to be paid $8 an hour while the owners of the team will walk away with millions per game.
The Green Bay Packers, on the other hand, are owned by the city of Green Bay. Given that the workers of New Orleans have supported the team for 50 years, and given that their work has made every bit of profit the Benson family has taken from the city, the people of New Orleans should own the New Orleans Saints. No more handouts to the super-rich! No more privately-owned teams! Make the Saints a true home town team!