SAINTS' FUTURE IN NEW ORLEANS IS UNCERTAIN TEAM OWNER, TAGLIABUE SCRUTINIZE REBUILDING DESPITE FAN PLEAS TO STAY.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

Jay Foster lost his house, his car and many of the clothes off his back to Hurricane Katrina. Now he's afraid he'll lose his Saints.

As the New Orleans Saints prepare to play their first post-Katrina game in the state of Louisiana on Sunday in Baton Rouge against the Miami Dolphins, some of their long-suffering fans are fearful that the team won't be around much longer.

In recent weeks, owner Tom Benson has left a trail of signs indicating that a move to San Antonio, where the Saints have been based the last two months, might be made permanent. There are also increasingly louder acknowledgments from within the NFL that the team may eventually end up in Los Angeles.

``I felt like people were kicking me,'' said Foster, an attorney and Saints' season-ticket holder from Ocean Springs, Miss., about 90 miles east of New Orleans. ``I lost everything. That was just icing on the cake, so to speak, that the Saints might possibly move.''

That possibility has spurred some fans, including Foster, into action with a grass-roots campaign called ``Save Our Saints.''

Formed via an Internet fan site, they've raised enough money to buy radio air time, print 10,000 fliers that will be handed out Sunday and have hired a plane that will carry a banner over LSU's Tiger Stadium, delivering a message to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and anyone else who sees it: ``Mr. Tagliabue. S.O.S. ... Save Our New Orleans Saints.''

This weekend could prove to be a critical one for the Saints' future. Tagliabue plans to meet with Benson, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and LSU officials regarding the teams' plans for next season and beyond.

``We're hoping to solidify the commitment three ways, between the Saints, the state and the NFL to have the Saints remain a part of our rebuilding and our future,'' Superdome Commission chairman Tim Coulon said Thursday in a phone interview. ``The concerns on the part of the NFL and Mr. Benson will be expressed, as will our concerns. But this is the first time we'll have had a face-to-face meeting.''

The discussions are not just a matter of convenience - or symbolism with the Saints' return to the state. They are also a matter of necessity since the Saints face a deadline of Nov. 29 in which they can void all contractual obligations under a natural disaster clause in their contract. The Saints also have a 90-day window beginning Jan. 1, 2006 in which they can walk away from their lease, but they would have to repay the state $81 million in subsidies from the state.

The Saints notified the state earlier this month that they wanted out of their lease for the team's headquarters, claiming that National Guard Troops and FEMA left it in poor condition after using it as a staging area after the hurricane. However, state officials toured the facility Wednesday and declared it ready for the Saints to return.

``There's no doubt the facilities are not a hindrance to the Saints' returning,'' Coulon said.

The state-run Superdome is more in limbo. It is expected to be rebuilt but not in time for next season.

It won't be demolished since preliminary reports indicate $125 to $150 million worth of damage, Coulon said, well below the threshold of about $270 million - or more than half the cost of a new stadium - required to raze it.

Instead, the state can use the $125-150 million that would be covered by a combination of FEMA and insurance funds, according to Coulon, toward restoration and renovation. He said it would cost about $50 million more to enhance the suites and create more ground-level seating, key components of a $187 million renovation plan that the Saints and the state had been negotiating when Katrina hit.

Once the state receives its final damage report early next month, it can go to FEMA and insurance companies and begin drafting contract documents for the restoration. However, the work is likely to take 12 months.

``You're looking at playing at LSU for a portion of, if not all of next year,'' Coulon said.

LSU chancellor Sean O'Keefe originally was lukewarm to the idea of hosting the Saints, but officials are taking a wait-and-see approach until this weekend when the Tigers play host to North Texas on Saturday and the Saints play the first of four games there this season.

``We won't have a total understanding of the burden until next week,'' said LSU senior associate athletic director Dan Radakovich. ``We have no idea what the future holds, but if we're asked by the state, we'll attempt to help in whatever way possible.''

Ticket sales for Sunday's game, which will feature the return of Nick Saban, who coached LSU to a share of the national championship two years ago, had been sluggish, reportedly around 50,000 last week. The Saints aren't saying how many tickets have been sold, but there are indications sales have picked up.

Some blame the Saints for not marketing the game or understaffing the Baton Rouge ticket office.

Many fans view Benson's about face of the last week, such as a full-page ad in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge papers saying he's committed to the region, with a jaundiced eye.

``In terms of Tom Benson, people are very cynical because of his past treatment,'' said Chris Guillory, who runs a weblog, Saintsdoggle.blogspot.com, about the team's travails. ``Every single season it seems to be something. Fans have really gotten tired of his game.''

What many in Louisiana seem to be hoping for is a show of support for the Saints on Sunday and an offer of a little more time to get their lives - and their region - in order.

``The Saints are absolutely crucial to the area,'' Foster said. ``There were 92,000 people in the stands at Tiger Stadium last week. You can't tell me we don't have what it takes to support a team down here.''

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com

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JAY FOSTER