`ZERO' EXPECTED ON L.A. FROM NFL LOCAL OFFICIALS NOT OPTIMISTIC ABOUT UPCOMING MEETING.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

The NFL unwittingly picked an appropriate place for its latest discussion on the shadowy, serpentine subject of returning to Los Angeles -- a New Orleans hotel not more than a long punt from the murky, meandering Mississippi River.

It has been more than a decade of false starts, missed deadlines and faded possibilities -- from Hollywood Park to the downtown neighborhood of South Park -- and just where is the NFL now?

Like the Mississippi, it's hard to see bottom or around the bend.

NFL owners will receive a status report from the staff and a committee of 11 owners Tuesday on the cost of rebuilding the Coliseum and constructing a new stadium in Anaheim. Three projections the league has solicited are close to the $800 million that has been estimated since early this year, a source said.

They'll also be updated on marketing research that will help determine how an owner can recoup the investment in the stadium.

And for the first time, it will be recently elected commissioner Roger Goodell, who has long had a hand in the NFL's strategy in Los Angeles, directing the discussion.

As to where it goes from there, the NFL is mum.

NFL executive vice president Neil Glat, who has been the league's foot soldier in its exploration in Los Angeles, was not made available for interviews last week, an unusual step before league meetings.

The NFL issued only a brief statement Thursday, the day after the 11-owner committee on Los Angeles was briefed, confirming that the status report is on the agenda and saying it didn't know if a vote would be taken. Interview requests of owners were referred to the league.

If there is any major action, the most surprised people would be on the Coliseum Commission and in Anaheim.

``Zero,'' Coliseum commissioner Bill Chadwick said when asked what he expected from the owners. ``I'm handicapping zero to come out of this meeting.''

Anaheim City Manager Dave Morgan said, ``I don't have high expectations that there'll be some major announcement.''

As is their custom, nobody from Anaheim is planning on attending the meeting uninvited. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had the spot held on his calendar, but a spokesman said he's not planning on attending. Only City Councilman Bernard Parks, who is as much a part of the lobby scenery at NFL meetings as comfortable couches, will be on hand to debrief owners.

In fact, the football - mixed metaphor or not - is in the NFL's court. Those in Los Angeles and Anaheim say they're just waiting for the owners to digest what they'll be told and see what direction the league goes from there.

Both have told the NFL that they're going to explore other options, the Coliseum a long-term lease with USC and Anaheim alternative development for the 50-acre parcel, but haven't said when they'll move on.

What's interesting is that it is Anaheim, which last spring was exasperated at the NFL's foot dragging, which is content for now to cool its heels while the Coliseum commissioners, who had always embraced the idea that they would be the last man standing, are the ones who can't stop tapping their toes and checking their watches.

``I like resolutions,'' commissioner David Israel said. ``I believe you make a decision and live with the consequences. We know what the issues are; we've known for years, our side and the NFL. Nothing's going to change.''

Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch and USC counsel Todd Dickey have spoken about what the issues would be in a long-term lease, but both said they were part of regular discussions and not negotiations.

``I'd call it getting the lay of the land,'' Lynch said.

Those talks could get more serious as soon as next week, when the Coliseum Commission meets Nov. 1.

``We can't set a deadline for the NFL, but we can sure set a deadline for ourselves,'' Israel said, noting again that the Coliseum could be facing a $2.5 million rent increase from the state next year. ``We have obligations to be met.''

Meanwhile, Anaheim accepted proposal requests for other uses for the property, and since the end of August, city staff has been reviewing five, one city source said.

``Our goal is to have some of the proposals summarized where we can share them with the City Council by December of January,'' Morgan said.

However, Mayor Curt Pringle said that even if an NFL deal isn't on the table by then, the city might not necessarily move on to another development.

``I don't feel pressure to make a deal,'' he said.

Also, by New Year's Day there might be a new wrinkle.

If the Chargers don't have an agreement for a new stadium deal in place in San Diego County by Jan. 1, they can begin discussions outside the county.

While the Chargers could talk to Los Angeles officials, one tenet of a deal at the Coliseum is about $25 million worth of infrastructure funding from tax increments that wouldn't be available to any team that relocates from within California. No such restriction applies in Anaheim, and Pringle is a close friend of Chargers owner Alex Spanos, whom the former state Assembly speaker counts as a major political benefactor.

By then, it could be clear that the NFL is leaning toward one site. Or both. Or neither. Or perhaps the Rose Bowl, depending on a ballot initiative next month, could be back in play. Or maybe somewhere else.

Or maybe they'll just think about it some more.

``I've been working for eight years on negotiations with the NFL,'' Chadwick said. ``Some owners weren't in the league then, so this may be relatively new. It's not something they're thinking about every day, so they'll get more data, absorb it, assimilate it and at some point make a decision.

``We're in the responsive mode. The proaction has to come from them. If I was in their shoes, I wouldn't let anybody cause me to rush to judgment. I don't think there's a sense of urgency. The Coliseum Commission and the City of Anaheim have a greater sense of urgency. We have decisions to make.

``I don't think the NFL feels it's in that position.''

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CAPTION(S):

photo, 7 boxes

Photo:

Detroit's Mike Williams (USC) has no receptions in limited playing time this season.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Box:

(1) KEY STAT

(2) WHO'S HOT

(3) WHO'S COLD

(4) ROOKIE WATCH

(5) STANDING

(6) NFL WEEK SEVEN PREVIEW

Associated Press

(7) DAILY NEWS/ CBS 2/ KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER

- Billy Witz