Saints: Superdome officials 'disingenuous' over renovation payments - ESPN

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Saints president Dennis Lauscha decried «disingenuous and unprofessional» conduct by the state commission that oversees the Superdome in a new round of public sparring Friday over the NFL team's withholding of money for renovations to the stadium hosting the next Super Bowl.

During an interview conducted by the Saints' official website, Lauscha confirmed that the team's decision to hold back payments stemmed from dissatisfaction over the state's posture in parallel negotiations toward a long-term Superdome lease.

The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District «was informed that material progress toward a long-term lease had to be made or payments would be stopped,» Lauscha said. «As of late of last week, sufficient progress was not made and the Saints reached out to tell them, yet again, that payments would not be made until significant progress on the lease was accomplished.»

The LSED made public during a meeting on Wednesday that the Saints were $11.4 million behind on payments toward Superdome renovations that are scheduled for completion this summer.

The NFL club issued a statement later that day in which it said it remained prepared to pay for its share of the renovations, but not until it received then-unspecified «documentation.» LSED officials responded that they «do not understand» what documentation the Saints need because not a single work invoice related to renovations had been disputed.

Lauscha said it was «absolutely disingenuous and unprofessional for the LSED to make a statement that they are unaware of what we are looking for.»

The LSED statement did, however, reference the lease negotiations.

«That is a completely separate and independent agreement,» the LSED stated. «There is