NEW ORLEANS -- The NFL and the National Automobile Dealers Association continued talks Friday aimed at pulling off a complicated schedule change that would enable this city to keep the Super Bowl.

With a week's worth of games postponed following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the NFL hopes to move the Super Bowl back one week to Feb. 3 -- the same weekend that NADA is set to hold a major convention in the city. If an agreement cannot be reached, the NFL may move the game out of New Orleans, a possibility community leaders are working hard to avoid.

"The talks have resumed," David Hyatt of NADA said on Friday. "It's a fresh sharing of information and further sharing of the complexities involved in trying to do this.

"For those that would like it to happen it's too early to be either optimistic or pessimistic."

The Rose Bowl has emerged as the leading candidate as the site for this season's Super Bowl if New Orleans is unable to accommodate a date change, an NFL source told the Los Angeles Times on Friday.

Darryl Dunne, general manager of the Rose Bowl, visited NFL headquarters on Friday and met with league executive Jim Steeg, who oversees the Super Bowl.

"We realize the NFL's first choice would be to keep the game in New Orleans," Dunne told the Times. "But, if called upon, we will be ready. If they come to us, the Rose Bowl will be ready."

Meanwhile, the members of the New Orleans Hotel and Motel Association worked to switch rooms to accommodate the potential new date for the game.

"All the parties want to get it done," said Bill Lankopp, executive vice president of the association. "What that means is everybody has to give a little and take a little. If that happens, I think we'll get it done."

The NFL has not set a deadline for resolving the situation, except to get it done as soon as possible, said league spokesman Greg Aiello.

"As far as the swap with NADA, we're not there yet and it's not clear we're going get it done," Aiello said. That's why we're continuing to explore other options."

In the case no deal can be reached with NADA, the NFL has contacted other cities -- Miami, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles -- to see if they could play host to this year's championship game. If the game were moved, NFL officials have said they would consider holding the league's two conference finals in New Orleans the weekend of Jan. 27.

New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson has contacted other NFL owners who have ties to the automobile business looking for help persuading the NADA to move its convention up a week.

Benson said he and others such as Detroit Lions owner and Ford executive William Clay Ford Jr. and Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs have spoken with NADA to seek the group's indulgence so the league won't have to move the Super Bowl to another site. Miami Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga also is a car dealer. Huizenga's position on the lobbying effort is unknown.

Another complication if the move is made could be handling both Super Bowl and the first weekend of Mardi Gras parades.

New Orleans police are used to handling the huge crowds that both events generate, but officials fear they would be stretched thin with the two combined. There are 15 parades scheduled in the greater New Orleans area the weekend of Feb. 1-3. Police have discussed having the two downtown parades scheduled on Feb. 3 changed to a weeknight if the Super Bowl is rescheduled for that date.