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**DegenerationY** · 09-28-2004, 07:40 PM

09/28/2004 10:29 AM ET
No timetable for Expos move
Relocation announcement not set, says DuPuy
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

Reports on Monday night stated that an announcement on the future of the Montreal Expos will likely be made on Thursday. However, baseball's No. 2 official would not confirm them.
The Associated Press reported that "the most likely day for an announcement Washington, D.C., has been selected for the future home of the team is Thursday, although there was a slight chance the timetable could be moved up." AP cited several unnamed baseball officials.

But Bob DuPuy, MLB's president, chief operation officer, and a member of the relocation committee that has spent two years exploring the move, countered that speculation on Tuesday.

"No schedule has been set for any announcement," DuPuy said in an e-mail response to the AP story.

After the relocation committee reported to the executive council and Commissioner Bud Selig this past Thursday in Milwaukee, DuPuy said that a decision on the Expos was still possible by Sunday's end of the regular season.

But all the elements involved in coming to that decision could forestall any announcement. Chief among them is negotiating a settlement with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who has strongly opposed a move of the Expos to the Washington area and particularly the city proper, which is 35 miles away from Baltimore.

Peter Magowan, the Giants' managing general partner and a member of the executive council, said this past weekend in San Francisco that the matter might not be resolved until the close of the postseason. The World Series could end as late as Oct. 31, only weeks before the owners meet for the last time this year.

Magowan wouldn't comment on the context of last week's meeting, saying all those present had been sworn to secrecy.

"I'll just say that the issues should be done by the end of the season and when I say that I mean the very end of the season, including the playoffs," Magowan said. "But if one or two things fall into place quickly it still could happen by the end of the (regular) season."

By all published accounts, Washington, D.C., is the leading candidate with Northern Virginia falling to second because of political problems at the state level. The other contenders -- Norfolk, Va., Portland, Ore., Monterrey, Mexico, and Las Vegas -- have yet to be eliminated, but they have all been on the periphery for months.

This past Friday, city officials said the District had concluded negotiations with MLB to try and procure the team, which has been owned and operated by baseball's other 29 owners since the Expos were purchased for $120 million from Jeffrey Loria and his minority partners on Feb. 15, 2004. At the same time, Loria and those partners purchased the Florida Marlins.

"I would say that it is virtually completed without any major deal points outstanding," said Bill Hall, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission's baseball committee. "As far as I'm concerned," Hall said, "[next up] is to hear from Major League Baseball that we have a deal."

The relocation committee seemed to have zeroed in on the District in recent weeks. Members of the committee met for 7 1/2 hours late last month with District officials to discuss all facets of their proposal. They followed that up two weeks ago with another 11 1/2-hour session buttoning down details.

The net result of those meetings was a 30-page document that would conditionally award the Expos to the District, pending funding of a more than $400 million ballpark on the Anacostia River waterfront near M and South Capitol Streets, which is now the preferred site among the four proposed by the District last year. As part of that package, $13 million would be set aside to reacclimate RFK Stadium for baseball in time for the 2005 season.

If the team moves to Washington, the renamed Expos are expected to play at least three seasons at RFK, which hasn't been home to baseball on a regular basis since the Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season. The Expos expanded into the National League in 1969 along with the San Diego Padres and have played in Montreal ever since. The team would be the first in MLB to relocate since the Senators.

Several outlets have reported that baseball officials met over the weekend with Angelos to try and reconcile differences regarding the relocation, but DuPuy did not address those meetings in his e-mail.

09-28-2004, 07:40 PM	#8
DegenerationY WARRIORS Posts: 9,414	09/28/2004 10:29 AM ET No timetable for Expos move Relocation announcement not set, says DuPuy By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com Reports on Monday night stated that an announcement on the future of the Montreal Expos will likely be made on Thursday. However, baseball's No. 2 official would not confirm them. The Associated Press reported that "the most likely day for an announcement Washington, D.C., has been selected for the future home of the team is Thursday, although there was a slight chance the timetable could be moved up." AP cited several unnamed baseball officials. But Bob DuPuy, MLB's president, chief operation officer, and a member of the relocation committee that has spent two years exploring the move, countered that speculation on Tuesday. "No schedule has been set for any announcement," DuPuy said in an e-mail response to the AP story. After the relocation committee reported to the executive council and Commissioner Bud Selig this past Thursday in Milwaukee, DuPuy said that a decision on the Expos was still possible by Sunday's end of the regular season. But all the elements involved in coming to that decision could forestall any announcement. Chief among them is negotiating a settlement with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who has strongly opposed a move of the Expos to the Washington area and particularly the city proper, which is 35 miles away from Baltimore. Peter Magowan, the Giants' managing general partner and a member of the executive council, said this past weekend in San Francisco that the matter might not be resolved until the close of the postseason. The World Series could end as late as Oct. 31, only weeks before the owners meet for the last time this year. Magowan wouldn't comment on the context of last week's meeting, saying all those present had been sworn to secrecy. "I'll just say that the issues should be done by the end of the season and when I say that I mean the very end of the season, including the playoffs," Magowan said. "But if one or two things fall into place quickly it still could happen by the end of the (regular) season." By all published accounts, Washington, D.C., is the leading candidate with Northern Virginia falling to second because of political problems at the state level. The other contenders -- Norfolk, Va., Portland, Ore., Monterrey, Mexico, and Las Vegas -- have yet to be eliminated, but they have all been on the periphery for months. This past Friday, city officials said the District had concluded negotiations with MLB to try and procure the team, which has been owned and operated by baseball's other 29 owners since the Expos were purchased for $120 million from Jeffrey Loria and his minority partners on Feb. 15, 2004. At the same time, Loria and those partners purchased the Florida Marlins. "I would say that it is virtually completed without any major deal points outstanding," said Bill Hall, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission's baseball committee. "As far as I'm concerned," Hall said, "[next up] is to hear from Major League Baseball that we have a deal." The relocation committee seemed to have zeroed in on the District in recent weeks. Members of the committee met for 7 1/2 hours late last month with District officials to discuss all facets of their proposal. They followed that up two weeks ago with another 11 1/2-hour session buttoning down details. The net result of those meetings was a 30-page document that would conditionally award the Expos to the District, pending funding of a more than $400 million ballpark on the Anacostia River waterfront near M and South Capitol Streets, which is now the preferred site among the four proposed by the District last year. As part of that package, $13 million would be set aside to reacclimate RFK Stadium for baseball in time for the 2005 season. If the team moves to Washington, the renamed Expos are expected to play at least three seasons at RFK, which hasn't been home to baseball on a regular basis since the Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season. The Expos expanded into the National League in 1969 along with the San Diego Padres and have played in Montreal ever since. The team would be the first in MLB to relocate since the Senators. Several outlets have reported that baseball officials met over the weekend with Angelos to try and reconcile differences regarding the relocation, but DuPuy did not address those meetings in his e-mail.