Saints Superdome officials withheld renovation payment [Video]

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 …