A City in Need of Saints

As of last night, the final two teams have been chosen to play in Super Bowl Forty Four. One of those teams might have come as a huge surprise to many, considering the fact that they are making their first Super Bowl appearance in team history. To the city of New Orleans the Saints are certainly not just any professional sports team and as well as this is not just any normal Super Bowl. To the embattled city of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Saints are one of the few positives still left over from there dreadful past. To a city that Hurricane Katrina left with barely anything, the Saints have not just giving back to the community with a great past few years of football, but yet through their crucial assistance to the community off the field.
The saints are not just a source of pride for the state of Louisiana but they are one of the state’s largest stimulators of the economy. Just for starters, Saints and their owner Tom Benson donate an annual amount of $5 million in cash, goods and services. The amount of money and jobs that the Saints bring to the city’s economy is quite a blessing for a city that has been through more than most can imagine. In 2008 alone, the Saints brought in $552.5 million, with $22.1 million in state taxes and 3,968 jobs created.
This past year alone the Saints created 480 direct jobs and 4,206 other jobs in the local economy in the city of New Orleans. According to reports prepared by Dr. Timothy P. Ryan of the University of New Orleans, the Saints created $161.97 million in earnings for Louisiana residents.
The 25-year expected total in direct impact of the Saints on the state is $12.02 billion, according to Dr. Ryan’s findings in his 2002 report. The total impact – direct and indirect – will be $26.04 billion. Overall this equates to a projected total earnings amount of $1.23 billion for the state of Louisiana.
Saints owner Tom Benson is furthering the positives for the city through leading the campaign to host the Super Bowl at the New Orleans Superdome in 2013. The economic windfall for Super Bowl host cities is estimated to be in excess of $300 million. While the game not only attracts thousands of spending fans, there will also be a plentiful amount of national and international media attention. The attention that New Orleans would bring after the heartfelt events that have happened here would bring a great deal of positive exposure to a city that truly deserves such.
Either way the game turns out on Super Bowl Sunday the New Orleans Saints must be considered true champions. Not only for their role in bringing the fans of New Orleans great joy during tremendously hard times, but for their large part in assisting to keep New Orleans on its feet when most thought it had collapsed. In a day in age where professional sports are headlined by athletes demanding highly over-priced salaries, it really is nice to find out that there are individuals out there in sports that actually care about what’s going on in the world around them.

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