NFL UPDATE: SAINTS' SALE IS NON-STARTER $1 BILLION OFFER TURNED DOWN.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - Questions about the value of a franchise in Los Angeles began to be answered Tuesday when New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson confirmed that he has received a written offer of more than $1 billion from someone interested in buying the club and moving it to Los Angeles.

The 78-year-old Benson, in a lengthy discussion Tuesday with reporters at the NFL owners' meeting, reiterated what he told the Daily News two months ago - that he had no interest in selling the team and planned to turn it over to his granddaughter, team executive Rita Benson LeBlanc.

``I don't care if they offer me $6 billion,'' Benson said. ``I'm not going to sell the club.''

The Saints, who have an out in their lease with the state of Louisiana after the upcoming season, have been mentioned as a prime candidate for relocation to Los Angeles.

Benson has made threats to leave - first to Los Angeles, then earlier this month to San Antonio and Albuquerque - if he is unable to reach an agreement with the state for a renovated Superdome or new stadium.

On Tuesday. he insisted his plan was to stay in New Orleans. Asked why the Saints wouldn't be headed to Los Angeles, Benson testily replied: ``Because I said that we weren't going to move, that's why.''

If Benson was contrite toward New Orleans fans, there might be good reason.

The Saints have sold less than 26,000 season tickets, a renewal rate of 45 percent from last season. Since he walked away from negotiations with the state April 29, fans that have been hugely supportive of a franchise that has won one playoff game in 38 seasons have charred Benson like blackened redfish.

``You can't have people hanging me and our club all the time and saying all the things that have been said about us, which have been untrue, and expect us to be nice,'' Benson said.

It isn't just those in Louisiana who are upset with Benson. According to a league source, NFL executives were not pleased recently when Benson's attorney, Stanley Rosenberg, told the San Antonio News-Express that Benson was interested in moving the team to San Antonio or Albuquerque. They want him to focus on working out a deal in New Orleans.

Even before Benson's comments, it seems increasingly unlikely that the Saints would be coming to Los Angeles in 2006.

While NFL vice president for strategic planning Neil Glat reiterated the league's position that a team could arrive in Los Angeles before a new stadium is ready - ``Anything's possible; if it came to that, we'd explore a lot of different contingencies,'' Glat said - such a move could be risky.

For example, playing in the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum while a stadium is being built or renovated would create a financial hardship for the owner because there wouldn't be nearly the revenue streams the new stadium would supply. Also, fans would then likely be faced with huge ticket-price hikes when the new stadium opened - a risky proposition if the team isn't successful.

Also, Benson would have to sell the team - something he insists he won't do - for two reasons. He doesn't have the resources to pay the state the $81 million and cover the costs of what is expected to be a $500 million stadium project without taking on a partner. And if he did have the money, the league would insist he sell a stake so to involve local ownership.

The more likely candidate for relocation may be in San Diego, where the Chargers' plans for a stadium project are mired in the morass of the city's political corruption scandal.

The Chargers have proposed paying for a new stadium if the city gives them 60 acres on which to build a development around Qualcomm Stadium. The team would then use proceeds from the mixed-use project to pay for the stadium.

But the recent resignation of mayor Dick Murphy, the indictment of six city officials in a pension fraud case and the specter of bankruptcy that hangs over the city has thwarted the Chargers in an attempt to find a development partner.

``With all the uncertainty, nobody wants to come in as a partner because the risk is too great,'' Chargers president Dean Spanos said.

The Chargers, who are trying to get a ballot initiative on the project on the Nov. 2006 ballot, are prohibited from speaking to other cities until Jan. 1., 2007. They wouldn't be able to move until after the 2008 season.

Given that the league now plans to have a stadium in Los Angeles by 2009, is there a connection to be made.

``Probably not,'' Spanos said.

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com