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NFL Saints will return to New Orleans, owner says

Posted on: Friday, 30 December 2005, 14:46 CST

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The New Orleans Saints football team will return to New Orleans and plans to play all its 2006 home games in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina forced a move to San Antonio this year, team owner Tom Benson said on Friday.

He told reporters "the entire Saints organization" would go back to the city after the team's final 2005 game this Sunday against Tampa Bay in Florida.

Benson's announcement ended speculation for now that he would keep the Saints permanently in San Antonio, where he has a home and several businesses. But neither he nor the National Football League has committed to keeping the Saints in New Orleans beyond 2006.

The Saints' home stadium, the Superdome, was badly damaged in the August 29 storm and the chaotic aftermath when thousands of people took refuge in the stadium to escape rising flood waters.

Officials have said the Superdome should be ready for use next fall, perhaps as early as mid-September, or shortly after the start of the season.

The Saints lived and practiced in San Antonio and played three games in the city's Alamodome this fall. They played four games in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70 miles from New Orleans and the rest on the road.

Source: REUTERS

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