In a career in business and professional sports that spanned over 70 years, Tom Benson was an endearing figure in his hometown of New Orleans as well as throughout the NBA and the NFL. Mr. Benson served as the owner of the New Orleans Pelicans since 2012 and the New Orleans Saints since 1985 until his death on March 15, 2018. He was survived by his wife Gayle.
Thomas Milton Benson, Jr. was born on July 12, 1927 in New Orleans. Raised in the city's St. Roch neighborhood, Mr. Benson graduated from St. Aloysius High School (Now Brother Martin) in 1944. Following his graduation, he enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans to study business and accounting. He interrupted his education to enlist in the U.S. Navy in 1945, where he was assigned to the USS South Dakota. Upon the conclusion of World War II, Mr. Benson returned home to New Orleans and continued his business administration studies.
In 1948, he went to work as a bookkeeper for the Cathey Chevrolet Co. in New Orleans and by 1956, at age 29, Mr. Benson was on his way to manage a Chevrolet dealership as a junior partner. Six years later, he took full control of the company and established a multi-dealership organization with outlets throughout the New Orleans area and South Texas. In 1972, Mr. Benson entered the banking business and eventually took his banking network public as Benson Financial World.
By the 1980's Mr. Benson had built a highly successful network in the automotive and banking industries in both Southeast Louisiana and South Texas, but while a fan of the game of football and the Saints, the sport had yet to become one of his passions. However, he realized the importance of the New Orleans Saints to his hometown and on May 31, 1985, he purchased the team after learning that the NFL franchise was on the verge of being sold to parties interested in relocating the team.
Not surprisingly, success soon followed as the Saints entered the most compelling and memorable period in franchise history under Mr. Benson's leadership after having previously not enjoyed a winning record or a playoff berth. In 1986, in one of his first personnel moves as Owner, he hired Jim Finks as president/general manager and Jim Mora as head coach. In 1987, the Saints broke through with a 12-3 record and hosted their first playoff contest. In its first 17 seasons of existence, the Saints won a total of 73 games. Under Benson's guidance, the franchise exceeded that win total in only eight years by 1992. The Saints reached even greater heights in 2006, when he entrusted Executive Vice-President/General Manager Mickey Loomis to hire Sean Payton as head coach and sign free agent quarterback Drew Brees. Since those moves, the franchise has reached its highest point of success, posting a 119-85 overall record over the last 12 years, capped by the Super Bowl XLIV Championship. Overall, since being purchased by Mr. Benson in 1985, the Saints have earned 11 playoff berths, six division titles and captured Super Bowl XLIV in 2009, building a foundation for continued success, on and off the field. Mr. Benson's commitment to winning and serving the community was an opportunity to reward the team's fans, whose support has reached new heights with the Mercedes-Benz Superdome being sold-out on a season ticket basis for every campaign since 2006, with a waiting list of over 73,000 people. By the end of the 2017 season, the consecutive sellout streak had extended to 122 games.
During Mr. Benson's illustrious career, 50 of his players were Pro Bowl selections, including two AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year selections by Brees and him being named AP Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 2010 and three offensive or defensive Rookies of the Year. Also four of Benson's players were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Benson created a team Ring of Honor that features players from the past, while creating a special place for Saints stars of the future to be recognized. Possessing the desire to give back to the great game of football, in 2014 Mr. Benson pledged two significant gifts totaling $11 million to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. $10 million was earmarked for the immediate renovation of the Hall's onsite stadium, which hosts the annual enshrinement ceremony, the NFL Hall of Fame Game, two high school football teams and two college teams in Canton, Ohio, which was renamed "Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium." The additional one million dollars is the first donation towards the establishment of the Hall of Fame's Legends Landing program, a mixed-use residence that will include room for Hall of Famers and former NFL Players.
Mr. Benson also played a key role among NFL owners in various capacities for his 33 years of ownership of the Saints, including serving 25 years as Chairman of the Finance Committee, one of the League's most difficult, time-consuming and influential positions, with his most recent term ending in 2013. The assignment was evidence of the respect and esteem in which successive NFL commissioners and his fellow owners held him.
In 2012 Mr. Benson purchased the Hornets franchise from the National Basketball Association, which was successfully rebranded as the Pelicans. The objectives in his ownership of the basketball team were the same as his stewardship of the Saints: to produce a team on-the-court that will compete for championships every year, while making a significant positive impact off-the-court in the community. Upon the ownership transfer, construction immediately started on a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility adjacent to the Saints practice fields, which now comprises the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, with the entire Pelicans organization being housed together for the first time in the franchise's history. Through agreements with the state of Louisiana upon the purchase of the Pelicans, the Smoothie King Center has undergone nearly a complete renovation since the 2012 purchase, featuring a new center-hung HD video scoreboard in 2015, along with several fan upgrades. On the court, after Mr. Benson inherited a team that finished with the worst record in the NBA's Western Conference in 2011-12, the Pelicans have built through a combination of the draft, free agent signings and trades to become a stable and successful organization, reaching the playoffs for the second time in 2018 since the purchase of the club, advancing to the second round.
In addition to the success and the commitment to the community by the Saints and Pelicans, the efforts of ownership have also paid great economic dividends for the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Since Mr. Benson first purchased the team in 1985, the city has hosted five Super Bowls, including Super Bowl XLVII, with him being the driving force behind each campaign to secure the contest. Each Super Bowl has been an economic windfall, the 2013 game in New Orleans totaling $480 million, not to mention the exposure and charitable contributions the NFL makes during Super Bowl week that extends for generations. Through Mr. Benson's commitment to the Pelicans and his hometown, NBA All-Star Weekend was awarded to New Orleans in 2014 and 2017 with his lobbying playing a significant role. The most recent All-Star Weekend brought approximately $45 million in spending to Louisiana, and made the city one of just six current NBA markets to host the mid-season event at least three times.
Dedication to the Gulf South were among Mr. Benson's most rewarding endeavors. Since 2005, the Saints have positioned themselves as a leader in the recovery of the region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Immediately after the storm, they established the Saints Hurricane Katrina Fund, which raised over one million dollars to benefit worthy causes that helped in the region's recovery. The club was among the first major businesses to return to New Orleans, and in 2006 had a thrilling season where they reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time, becoming an inspiration for a region on the mend. In 2010, the club established the Saints Gulf Coast Renewal Fund, which raised over $1.5 million through the raffle of a Super Bowl ring and the 2012 raffle of Saints and Pelicans game day experiences. Over one million dollars has been distributed to charities, such as the local chapters of the Second Harvest Food Bank and Catholic Charities to help provide support of those affected by subsequent natural and manmade disasters, including the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Hurricane Isaac and flooding throughout the State in 2016. The efforts of the organization have continued to lift the community, with the team serving as an economic engine and a pacesetter in philanthropic contributions. In 2008, Mr. Benson was selected by the Volunteers of America as the winner of its annual Good Samaritan Award in Philanthropy in recognition of his work in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In 2015, he was honored by New Orleans City Business as one of the region's 35 "Driving Forces" for his contributions to the community since Hurricane Katrina.
Mr. Benson also worked through investment to helped stimulate the development of the city's Central Business District, directly adjoining the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, starting with the 2009 purchase of the formerly vacant and blighted Dominion Tower and the unoccupied New Orleans Centre. The two important commercial spaces, which were vacant since Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, have returned that region of the CBD into a more vibrant and viable sector of the city and revitalized an area that was largely ignored for four years following Hurricane Katrina. The renovated Benson Tower has served as a boon to this important business corridor, while "Champions Square", which made its debut in 2010 adjacent to the former mall, is continually being developed and enhanced into a world-class sports and entertainment destination. This economic investment plan, which included 2009 agreements on both a private and public level, has revitalized the Mercedes-Benz Superdome area, and the agreement with the state included a dramatic modernization of the stadium which was completed in 2011. Following the debut of the renovations, the Saints, under the leadership of Mr. Benson, and Mrs. Benson and Mercedes-Benz USA reached a ten-year agreement to rename the facility the "Mercedes-Benz Superdome." The stadium upgrades and rebranding include a legion of new enhancements that have significantly improved the fan experience for all events at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and kept the building competitive with new facilities across the country, allowing it to continue to host elite events including Super Bowl XLVII, the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship and the upcoming 2022 Final Four, two College Football Playoff semifinal contests and the CFP championship game. Recognizing the need for the stadium to be consistently upgraded, Mr. and Mrs. Benson most recently collaborated with the state on a multi-million dollar enhancement project for which they contributed $25 million, resulting in significant technology-related enhancements to improve the fan experience, headlined by the addition of two state-of-the-art LED video boards that debuted in 2016.
Mr. Benson's contributions in the sports, business and charitable arenas were recognized by several honors, including his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2014), the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame (New Orleans Chapter-2013), the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame (2012), the San Antonio Business Hall of Fame (2011) and the Texas Business Hall of Fame (2007).
Community involvement and giving back was the hallmark of Mr. Benson's career as a local business leader and Owner of the Pelicans and Saints. As products of local schools, Mr. and Mrs. Benson established the Brother Nicholas, S.C. Building Endowment in 2012 to support Brother Martin High School. In 1986, his alma mater honored Mr. Benson as their Alumnus of the Year. With Mr. Benson having been educated at Loyola New Orleans, he and his wife, Gayle, made a pledge for the construction of a new Jesuit Center in 2010, contributed to the creation of the Jesuit Social Research Institute in 2008 and he helped fund the first phase of construction of a chemistry wing in 1999. In 2010, Mr. Benson was honored by Loyola with the school's Integritas Vitae Award, the institution's highest honor, annually presented to an individual who exemplifies the qualities Loyola seeks to instill in its students. Mr. and Mrs. Benson also supported numerous local high schools and colleges with generous gifts. In supporting Tulane University's construction of an on-campus stadium, the Green Wave started playing on "Benson Field" in 2014.
Mr. and Mrs. Benson also made several significant gifts to higher education in San Antonio, Texas. They funded the building of a football stadium located on the University of Incarnate Word Campus, known as Gayle and Tom Benson Field and Benson Fieldhouse, which also services the school's teams. The football squad took to the field for the first time in 2009 and continues to grow. Mr. Benson was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Benson also established an endowment fund at Central Catholic High School in San Antonio that is dedicated to the memory of the late Robert Carter Benson, who graduated from the school in 1962, and donated the school's "Benson Memorial Library."
A longtime advocate of faith-based causes and spirituality, Mr. Benson was a longtime trusted and valued member of the local Catholic community and his and Mrs. Benson's support of the Church were recognized. For his humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors that have positively affected the lives of so many individuals and groups, Mr. Benson was honored in 2012 by the Catholic Church with an Oblate Doctor of Humane Letters (to a person who has achieved the human purpose for which Divine Providence Placed Him on Earth) certificate that honors his "realities of the most noble of human endeavors, weighted by criteria arising from the deepest human values." The certificate also honors "excellence in the area of life where excellence makes the most difference," and further cites his "attributes and accomplishments that come closest to what God would be interested in honoring." In 2012, Mr. and Mrs. Benson received from Pope Benedict XVI the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award—for outstanding service to the Church and the Pontiff, the highest Papal award granted to a lay person.
Mr. and Mrs. Benson also displayed their commitment to the health and wellness of the local community with a significant gift establishing the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center on the main campus of Ochsner Medical Center. The center was built and has since been upgraded following multiple gifts to the area's leading health service network of hospitals and clinics. Supporting the efforts of former Saints safety Steve Gleason and his Team Gleason organization which helps provide people with ALS and other debilitating conditions and environment where they can live vital and productive lives with meaningful freedom and independence, Mr. and Mrs. Benson donated five million dollars in 2014 to the Team Gleason House for Innovative Living at the New Orleans St. Margaret's facility.
Particularly close to the U.S. Navy, the military branch in which he served, Mr. Benson was the only enlisted man to serve on the Board of Trustees of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fl. and was honored with an award from the crew of the submarine U.S.S. Louisiana. In 2007, Mr. Benson was honored by the U.S. Navy Memorial with the Lone Sailor Award, presented to those who exemplify the core values of honor, courage and commitment. In 2009, Benson was presented with the U.S. Army's "Army Strong" Award in recognition for his position in the community while demonstrating leadership and Army Values on a daily basis. A leading advocate for the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C., Mr. Benson was also a major contributor and past director of The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, with his pledges helping fund both the Pacific Exhibit Grand Opening and the Midway Theater. In 2011, he was among five NFL owners honored with an American Spirit Award by the museum for his service in the war.
