SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday that relocation of the Montreal Expos is the only option baseball is considering for the orphaned franchise.
“There is no other option than relocation,” Selig said. “Contraction is off the table.”
Selig, wrapping up the two-day owners meeting, dismissed any chance that the Expos would remain in Montreal.
“It has been a struggle up there, and the only reason we are in this situation now is because they don’t have any local ownership,” he said.
However, the chances of either Washington or Northern Virginia getting the franchise suffered a setback with the announcement that Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had been elected to the owner’s Executive Council, a group of owners that serves as Selig’s inner circle.
Angelos opposes putting a team in the District or Northern Virginia. His opposition is believed to be the most significant obstacle to baseball returning to the Washington area.
Angelos’ election to the Executive Council indicates his power and influence are increasing among his fellow owners. It also appears Angelos is not considering selling the Orioles in the near future, as has been rumored for several years.
The commissioner reiterated baseball’s position that a city must have a stadium plan in place before a team is allowed to relocate there — a requirement that continues to put baseball at odds with officials from the District and Northern Virginia. Officials from each locale have demanded that the Expos be awarded to them conditionally as a prerequisite for approval of funds to build a new ballpark.
The Expos are owned by the owners of the 29 other major league franchises, part of a 2002 deal in which Jeffrey Loria sold the franchise to baseball for $120million. Last year the Expos played 22 “home” games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to offset financial losses from poor attendance in Montreal and will do so again this season.
There have been several timetables set over the past year for a recommendation by the relocation committee, though those deadlines have been ignored.
Expos president Tony Tavares said he expects a decision to be made by the All-Star break. When he was reminded that a similar deadline had been presented for last year, he jokingly replied, “It’s kind of a sliding scale.”
Selig said baseball intends to have a decision on a permanent home for the Expos in time for the 2005 season.
“Nobody is more anxious for this to happen than I am,” Selig said. “It was a very difficult situation, and I think we have done as good a job as we could to make it a presentable and passable situation. Having said that, we would like to get the club sold. It certainly should be sold this year. … I think we can relocate for 2005. The committee thinks we can relocate for 2005, and I believe we will.”
When relocation was under consideration last year, the District, Northern Virginia and Portland, Ore., were the only three communities under consideration. This time, baseball has added four other sites to the mix: the Hampton Roads, Va., area; Las Vegas; Monterrey, Mexico; and San Juan. All remain under consideration.
“We are very gratified for the number of feasible domestic and international candidates,” Selig said. “No candidates have been eliminated.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.