Was Tom Benson Out To Hustle Shreveport?

In the wake of Mayor Ollie Tyler's defeated proposal for a downtown sports arena for the New Orleans Pelicans minor league team, 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty ask, in the end, wasn't this just another attempt by Saints / Pelicans owner Tom Benson to get a another sweetheart deal from the people of Louisiana?

As Shreveport's city government plots its next move - to try again or withdraw from consideration - was it really citizens (and, eventually, the council's) rejection of taking on $30 million or more in additional debt that doomed the deal?