Football
Associated Press 18y

NFL: No New Orleans blackout for Saints games in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Saints fans in New Orleans will be able
to watch their team's home games in Baton Rouge even if they're not
sellouts.

With the Saints based in San Antonio, their fans scattered and
the Superdome severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and its
aftermath, the NFL said Wednesday networks may broadcast the games
as a gesture of good will.

"Due to the extraordinary circumstances that have affected the
Gulf Coast region, the New Orleans Saints' home games being played
in Baton Rouge this season will be televised locally regardless of
their sellout status," a league statement said.

NFL spokesman Seth Palansky said the league had to consider
everything. "It is unprecedented to have an NFL team playing home
games in three different cities in three different states," he
said.

The Saints play the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the Chicago Bears
on Nov. 6, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 4 and Carolina Panthers
on Dec. 18, all in LSU's Tiger Stadium.

The Saints said they sold 50,478 tickets for Sunday's game
through the end of the business day Monday, but did not release
figures through Tuesday. They are making 79,000 tickets available.

"I think it's a nice gesture," said Marie Knutson, who served
as president of the now-defunct Saints Fan Club for 20 years. She
said she hadn't missed a home game in 33 years, but has back
problems that make a trip to Baton Rouge impossible.

"There are a lot of people who physically can't go. Now they
can take a break from cleaning out their homes or cutting
sheetrock," she said.

Blackouts exemptions are rare. Games must be sold out at least
72 hours before kickoff to be televised in the area where the game
is played -- with 24-hour extensions possible if sellouts appear
imminent.

This will mark the league's third hurricane exemption, and the
second involving the Saints. The Saints' first game in San Antonio,
against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 2, fell short of a sellout at the
Alamodome. But the blackout was lifted in San Antonio because of
the short amount of time for ticket sales.

The Saints' second game in San Antonio was a sellout, but was
not televised there because the Fox network affiliate chose the
Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game instead.

Last Sunday's scheduled game of the Kansas City Chiefs at Miami
was moved up two days because of the approaching Hurricane Wilma.
That game was not a sellout, but was shown locally in south
Florida.

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