re: Best options for new NFL and NBA stadiums out of dangerous NOLA?

The Seattle Pelicans. Makes about as much sense as the Utah Jazz. I'd hate to see it happen, my son is 3 and loves basketball. Bought cheap seat season tickets to LSU and he couldn't be happier. I'd love to take him to some Pels games but I just don't feel it's safe. Putting my personal safety and property is one thing, bringing a 3 year old into that shithole is another. I really hope they turn it around or as soon as Gayle goes we will also have the San Antonio Saints.

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On top of that, there aren't many viable alternatives. With the specter of LA gone, there aren't many markets for an NFL team to move to that are viable, and the league wants a Gulf Coast presence.

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Like the Texans or Bucs?

The risk out there is that not only is New Orleans becoming less and less attractive to outsiders because of crime concerns......even on a good day, it's a very small market.

Gayle Benson has "pledged" to keep the Saints in Louisiana long term, but have their actually signed a lease in the dome beyond 2025? Should we expect them to demand a new retractable roof stadium somewhere late next year or threaten to leave? That might mean moving the Saints to Tiger Stadium for a couple of seasons while the dome is actually replaced entirely. But you might run into resistance from state taxpayers in investing close to $1 billion in a location that is far less desirable than it used to be.

IMO the state should quietly develop a plan to build a new retractable roof stadium somewhere in case the Saints demand one. Somewhere easy to get to for New Orleans, the north shore, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette and can be used for college sports, concerts, etc.

The dome is not exactly a spring chicken. It's not the state of the art arena that other markets can potentially provide and what NFL teams are often getting now. The Saints are definitely there until 2025. But beyond that, the state taxpayers are going to have to throw a huge amount of cash into the dome every year to keep them until 2035 and beyond. And there will be the possibility that they threaten to leave without getting a brand new facility.

And that's not a surprise. The state taxpayers are accustomed to subsidizing amenities for New Orleans. The broke, corrupt, and small city can't support itself anyways.