Washington, Portland are trying to acquire Expos

[Big-O Mark]

Washington, Portland are trying to acquire Expos

Monday, January 13

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Baseball owners plan to set up more detailed procedures this week for the possible sale and relocation of the Montreal Expos.

The committee appointed in November by commissioner Bud Selig meets Wednesday as a two-day gathering of owners starts in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"We're expecting to get the homework assignment from the committee, including what specific areas the committee is interested in hearing about and the timeline,'' Bobby Goldwater, president of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, said Monday.

"We were told a presentation would be taking place anytime from late February, March, it could even be in April. That's the expectation. That's what we were told would happen.''

Washington and Portland are the only two areas known to be vying for the Expos, with separate groups formed for downtown Washington and Northern Virginia. Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos has objected to a team moving to Washington, and it's not clear if he would try to block a relocation to his area.

Baseball's committee is charged with making a recommendation to Selig by the All-Star break in July.

"They're going to give us all the details of what they want to see in the presentation,'' said Drew Mahalic, chief executive officer of the Oregon Sports Authority. "They are going to want to see that Portland corporately, politically and demographically is able to support the Montreal Expos.''

Interest in the Expos has not developed in Charlotte, N.C., which in the 1990s discussed a possible move by the Minnesota Twins.

The Expos were bought by the other 29 major league teams before the 2002 season. The franchise is being operated by the commissioner's office, which has ordered the team to cut payroll, leading Montreal general manager Omar Minaya to consider dealing pitchers Bartolo Colon and Javier Vazquez, and catcher Michael Barrett.

To increase revenue, the commissioner's office moved 22 Expos' "home'' games in 2003 to San Juan, Puerto Rico. No team has moved since the expansion Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.

Selig's committee on the Expos includes Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, along with Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, and Selig's daughter, Wendy Selig-Prieb.

At the owners' meeting, Selig also is expected to discuss his plan to have the team that wins the All-Star Game get home-field advantage in the World Series.

[Dice599]

I don't have much to say on the topic of the 'spo's movin' cuz I dont really care about em, but I don't really like the All-Star Game winner home field advantage in the world series thing. The way they do it now is fine (I'm pretty sure it goes 2-2-1-1-1).

[Big-O Mark]

The Expos scenario that intrigues me the most is moving the team to Puerto Rico. That is one baseball crazy island, plus they use American dollars so there wouldn't be inflation concerns like there currently are with Canadian teams. I'd bet that they could sell out a lot of baseball games in their huge soccer stadiums. Plus, there are so many Latin American players in the Major Leagues that would probably love to play closer to home. It would definitely be an interesting experiment .

The Expos are slated to play (I think) 22 'home' games in Puerto Rico this season, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

[Dice599]

Yea, I'm pretty sure it's 22 'home' games.