ATLANTA - NFL owners voted yesterday to allow the Houston Oilers to move to Nashville, Tenn.

''It passed,'' said Alex Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, emerging from a 41/2-hour meeting. ''Houston is moving to Tennessee.''

Still uncertain was when the team will actually move to the Tennessee capital. The Oilers have a lease with the Astrodome through 1997.

Also, the deal is contingent on Nashville residents approving a May 7 referendum on the $292 million deal. Polls suggest overwhelming support for plans to bring the state its first major league franchise.

The Oilers would be the seventh NFL team to switch cities since 1982 - and the fourth in the past year.

Unlike the impassioned effort to keep the Browns from moving from Cleveland to Baltimore, a ''Save The Oilers'' campaign failed to generate much interest. The team has played to thousands of empty seats in recent seasons, and a rally earlier this year attracted less than 50 people.

''I'd hardly call that an emotional outpouring,'' New York Giants co-owner Robert Tisch said before the vote.

In a memo to the 30 NFL teams, commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the Oilers met all nine of the criteria that govern relocation, including such factors as stadium adequacy and fan support.

Oilers owner Bud Adams was rebuffed in his efforts to build a stadium to replace the 31-year-old Astrodome.

Still, the owners were reluctant to leave one of the nation's largest television markets.

''You always have concerns about moving from a market the size of Houston to one the size of Nashville,'' said Pat Bowlen, owner of the Denver Broncos. ''But Nashville has done a good job and deserve a team.''

The move is contingent on the May 7 referendum in Nashville, where voters are to decide whether to approve $80 million in city bonds needed to complete the package.

''We have one more issue to get over,'' Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen said. ''But I think this will supercharge the voters. It clears the decks. There's no more uncertainty.''

The Oilers are planning to change their name if they move to Nashville and probably will use Tennessee instead of the city name in an attempt to lure a statewide following.