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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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November
2006
Volume 11 -
Number 2 |
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Statements Supporting the Quick Repair of the Superdome
By Richard Locklair Kathleen Blanco: New Orleans Mayor
Repairs to the Superdome were fast-tracked as a sign New Orleans can recover from the devastation and misery that the stadium's stripped roof and destroyed interior symbolize.” “We are trying to erase the negative images as soon as possible," she said. Ricky Zeller: New Orleans Saints Spokesman The Saints have sold every ticket this season for the first time in their 40-year history” (2) Tom Benson: New Orleans Saints Team Owner Nearly all the Superdome's 137 suites also have been leased, according to team owner Tom Benson, who has car dealerships in the New Orleans and San Antonio areas and bought the Saints in 1985. The Saints have won both of their games this season. (2) Rita Benson LeBlanc: New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President "Tonight at kickoff, we win. We win for Saints fans, for New Orleans and for the entire Gulf South region," said Rita Benson LeBlanc, the team's executive vice president and grand-daughter of team owner Tom Benson.(3) Doug Thomton: Superdome Manager “Tonight, thanks to $143 million in federal, state and private funding, the around-the-clock efforts of more than 800 workers and, perhaps, the eternal desire of a city that treasures its heritage to restore what was lost, it's where the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons will stage this week's edition of Monday Night Football, the Saints' first home game since Dec. 26, 2004. It doesn't mean everything's OK in New Orleans. But it's something.” Douglas Brinkley: Historian "It's a chance to reclaim our future — to show that while New Orleans is still hurting, it's moving forward," said historian Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the first definitive account of the storm. "Our city politics are still divided. People aren't happy with the way things are going. But everybody is pulling for the Saints." Deuce McAllister: New Orleans Saints Running Back "Instead of (people) wondering are they going to continue to haggle with their insurance people, are they going to have to continue to work on their home, for three hours they can go and cheer for their Saints," running back Deuce McAllister said last week. "Until you really visit it and spend some time here in the city, in this region, you really don't understand what this team means to the region. Literally, when you're born, you're born with that black and gold in your blood. It's a part of you." Carolyn Vallet: New Orleans Citizen It's dear to the heart of men and women such as Lester and Carolyn Vallet, who fly the Saints flag and the Stars and Stripes in front of their remodeled home on St. Bernard Street near the Fair Grounds racetrack. "I'm hoping it will bring people back," Vallet said. "There's a lot of people depending on the Saints, and they love them." (4) (1) http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4027669 (2) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a2IuoLBQCVew&refer=us (3) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4214119.html (4) http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4211311.html |