The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District is facing a $27.5 million shortfall, largely because of obligations to the teams and mounting debt, said Doug Thornton, senior vice president of SMG, to lawmakers Tuesday.

SMG operates the Superdome for the Exposition District.

The shortfall adds to the state's financial woes for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The state already is expected to generate $1.2 billion less in state general fund revenue than in this fiscal year.

Payments to the Saints in the NFL and the Hornets NBA team are creating problems.

However, the Saints are the bigger problem because they receive three times as much as the Hornets.

The Jindal administration is negotiating with the Saints to extend the Football team's stay in Louisiana.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said later Tuesday afternoon that a deal brokered by a previous administration relied on unrealistic revenue expectations.

That deal guarantees the team $23.5 million a year in cash inducements.

The talks between the Saints and the administration are being kept private. Jindal said he will make the details public before agreeing to a new deal.

Jindal said he wants the Saints to stay in Louisiana.

He said it is too early to know what the state will be able to afford the next fiscal year.

At the Tuesday morning meeting of the General Government Subcommittee on House Appropriations, several lawmakers said the Saints' current agreement is a luxury the state cannot afford.

State Rep. Eddie Lambert, R-Prairieville, asked if the Superdome could book more events if the Saints weren't playing 10 weekends a year.

"This is a doomed scenario," Lambert said. "There's no way you can meet your debt service with these professional sports teams."

Thornton said it would be tough in the current economy to attract additional events.

He showed legislators a flow chart that identified the district's major revenue sources as $40 million in taxes and $23 million from operations. Most of the tax revenue stems from a hotel/motel tax.

In the upcoming budget year, the district also has an $18 million debt service payment and $33.8 million in total contractual obligations to the Saints.

The district refinanced debt and borrowed additional money after Hurricane Katrina to repair the Superdome and to pay operating expenses.

State Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro and chairman of the House appropriations committee, urged Thornton to deliver solutions to the problem rather than asking the state for money.

"Bring some recommendations other than, 'We need,' " Fannin said.

Thornton said the state can raise taxes or reallocate tax revenue going to other sources.

He said the hope is that the negotiations with the Saints will result in a rebalancing of the state's risk.

State Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, asked if Louisiana is the only state that pays cash to a sports team.

Thornton said he knows of no other state that gives a direct subsidy.

He said state officials want to move away from giving the Saints cash every year.