What's unusual about it? You know it's April when the state announces they're short. They have been short since April 2002. This is nothing new.
The Louisiana State Constitution limits what a budget surplus can be spent on to reduce opportunities for fraud.
Suddenly the Superdome with a bid on a Superbowl and Final Four in the same year doesn't look so outdated...
The money comes from the Hotel/Motel tax. How is the state at fault? Did they not collect it from someone? With record numbers in tourism the state still defaulted on the payments that Tagliabue said were something the Saints had to get away from. Mike Foster and Tom Benson are both at fault for agreeing on a contract that the city's tourism industry couldn't possibly keep up with.
The Saints aren't getting the 2012 Superbowl regardless of what Benson does. That's almost assuredly a lock for Indy who finally came through for the NFL coffers and built a new stadium. Plus, Benson is negotiating a new <s>ransom</s> contract with the state and a key argument he's trying to make is that he needs a new stadium. How is he going to successfully argue that the Superdome is outdated while it hosts the world's premier sporting event a few years from now?
Also, the Superbowl is on Feb 5th, 2012. Mardi Gras runs from Friday, January 6, 2012 through Tuesday, February 21, 2012, which explains why the city isnt making a big push for it. Still., it's awesome of Tom to attempt to spin it as "the city's fault" for not trying hard enough. He's not going to blame the city's biggest money maker, so he blames another sporting event a month away in hopes that the rest of us are too poor to own a calendar or too stupid to read a calender to realize that the Final Four is a month gone after the Superbowl.
******* ******...
Don't you people dare forget what he tried to do after Katrina. He is not your friend.