Saints considering move to San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The New Orleans Saints could be marching in to San Antonio, at least temporarily.

Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, who has also served as U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, believes the Saints would sell at least 50,000 tickets for every game in San Antonio.

"I have every reason to believe that Saints games would be successful here, and that is what I conveyed to the league," he told the San Antonio Express.

Saints Coach Jim Haslett says he would like the Saints to play in San Antonio because that is where the team has been practicing since being driven out of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Saints owner Tom Benson told the NFL earlier this week he would like the team to play some games in Baton Rouge at Louisiana State's Tiger Stadium.

Much of the Saints' hometown crowd is in Baton Rouge, with hundreds living in temporary quarters at Tiger Stadium.

The Saints' season-opener against the New York Giants, originally scheduled to be played in the Superdome, has been moved to Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The NFL has rejected making the Saints into a permanent road team.