San Antonio Makes Moves to Take Care of the Saints

A city councilman in San Antonio said Thursday that the Alamodome has cleared almost all of the necessary dates to play host to each of this season’s eight home games of the New Orleans Saints, displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

“The citizens of San Antonio are ready to offer their facilities in all availability to the New Orleans Saints organization,” Councilman Roger Flores said in a telephone interview. “I know there are one or two date conflicts that, understanding the dynamics of the situation, could be addressed and we could move forward in a positive direction.”

It is unclear when a decision will be made. The Saints also are considering contingency plans in Baton Rouge, La., about 80 miles north of the flood zone, and in Jackson, Miss. A team spokesman said Thursday that a decision is not expected today.

Earlier in the day, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said it was unlikely the Saints would play in New Orleans this season because of the devastation inflicted on that city.

“At this point you have to proceed on the assumption ... that they may be unable to play in New Orleans at all for the entire season,” Tagliabue said Thursday in an interview with CNBC.

“If things evolve in a positive way, then that would be something that we could adjust to. But our assumption is that for planning purposes, we should assume it will be difficult, if not impossible, to play in New Orleans at all this year.”

The Saints practiced in San Jose this week to prepare for an exhibition Thursday at Oakland, which the Raiders won, 13-6. After the game, the Saints were scheduled to fly to San Antonio, where the team has set up temporary headquarters. The players have been given the weekend off to reconnect with their families, then will practice in San Antonio before flying to Carolina for their Sept. 11 opener. The first home game for the Saints is Sept. 18 against the New York Giants.

Flores has helped author emergency legislation that would provide special hotel and motel rates in San Antonio for victims of the hurricane, and would waive taxes on those rooms for up to a month. He said several high school gyms in the area have been transformed into shelters, San Antonio firefighters are already in New Orleans performing search-and-rescue duties.

By allowing the Saints to use the 66,000-seat Alamodome, Flores said, the city can “provide that sense of pride that sports franchises often have, and give the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana that needed energy boost they will have to rely on to get through the next few weeks.”