This article is from cnnsi.com, 01/30/2003

The Long Goodbye

There's no set date for the Expos to leave Montreal, but bidding on the club has officially opened

By Stephen Cannella
Sports Illustrated

Next time a telemarketer interrupts dinner, don't curse: He could be offering you a major league team. This month former San Antonio mayor Nelson Wolff got a cold call from Corey Busch, head of the relocation committee appointed by baseball commissioner Bud Selig to find a new home for the Montreal Expos. Busch had a question: Is San Antonio interested in the Expos? "I was surprised and pleased to get the call," says Wolff, a county judge who's known as Mr. Baseball in San Antonio for leading the successful effort to build a stadium for the Triple A San Antonio Missions in the early 1990s. "But my response was, 'We're still several years away from being considered a market for major league baseball.'"

As les Expos get ready for another lame-duck summer, the effort to relocate them is grinding into gear. This week Selig's committee will begin meeting with delegations from three locales -- Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Portland -- that are eager for the team. The first step is to secure assurances from the bidding cities that a ballpark will be built for the team. Then the committee will worry about finding an owner. There's no guarantee that the team will have a new home by the 2004 season.

"Baseball hasn't done the best job of selecting markets," says a league official, mindful of the struggling franchises and uninviting stadiums in Florida. "You can have the greatest market and greatest owner, but if you don't have a good venue, the rest doesn't matter."

To boost the odds of a sweetheart stadium deal, baseball is scouring the U.S. -- and beyond -- to drum up candidate cities. In addition to the three front-runners and San Antonio, the committee has reached out to officials in Charlotte, and it will keep tabs on the Expos' 22 games in Puerto Rico this year to gauge San Juan's suitability as a relocation spot. Mexico City and northern New Jersey have also been floated as potential homes. Who'll wind up with the Expos? Here's a look at the top contenders.

WASHINGTON, D.C.


Population - 4.7 million (according to bid officials), largest without a major league team.

Stadium status - Planners have identified five sites within the District, but there is no firm commitment for local funding.

Pros - Washington could offer baseball its first minority owner: D.C. resident and BET owner Robert Johnson says he's interested in the Expos.

Cons - An outdated image, at least in the eyes of Major League Baseball. (Bobby Goldwater, president of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, says, "One baseball official I spoke to didn't know Washington has a subway system.") Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who claims his team draws 25% of its fans from the D.C. area, could start a legal battle to keep a club out of his backyard. And D.C.'s 42-year-old RFK Stadium, which would be a temporary home, needs an overhaul for baseball.


Bottom line - Ready for the new Senators? D.C. is the favorite.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA


Population - Nearly five million.

Stadium status - No site chosen, and a firm government financing plan has yet to be floated. A Virginia-based team would also use RFK as a temporary home.

Pros - Demographics: Though Northern Virginia is considered part of the D.C. metro area, planners say a team south of the Potomac will draw more fans from upmarket Virginia suburbs and fewer from the Orioles' base in Maryland. Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the most likely stadium sites, are among the nation's wealthiest (in per capita income). And baseball would be the only game in town -- Virginia has no other teams in the Big Four sports.

Cons - A massive state budget deficit could undercut public funding.


Bottom line - An attractive option if the Washington bid falls apart.

PORTLAND


Population - 2.2 million.

Stadium status - The team would play in 20,000-seat PGE Park, home of the Triple A Portland Beavers, until a downtown venue is ready.

Pros - Despite its image Portland's summertime rainfall is lower than that of 16 major league cities. Plus, the Oregon legislature came close to passing a $150 million stadium funding package in 2001.

Cons - The Portland Expos would draw from a smaller fan pool than the attendance-challenged teams in Detroit, Miami and Tampa.


Bottom Line - Portland fans will likely have to make do with the NBA Trail Blazers and the Beavers.
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No Game
Here are the 10 largest TV markets without a major league baseball team, according to Nielsen Media Research.
(Market-TV Households-Overall rank)

1. Washington, D.C.-Hagerstown, Md. 2,169,230 8
2. Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Calif. 1,227,600 19
3. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla. 1,224,470 20
4. Portland 1,061,080 23
5. Indianapolis 1,019,870 25
6. Hartford-New Haven, Conn. 980,410 27
7. Charlotte 962,540 28
8. Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, N.C. 929,460 29
9. Nashville 880,670 30
10. Columbus, Ohio 835,780 34


Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.