This article is from the 01/29/2003 Washington Post

District, Portland, Ore., Officials Chat With MLB

By Rachel Nichols
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 29, 2003; Page D05

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 -- Someday, there may be cropped green fields in the District of Columbia, the cracking sound of a bat, the perfect symmetry of a professional baseball diamond. For today, though, the process of bringing a Major League Baseball team to Washington consisted of men and women in suits saying polite things to each other in a tall steel building more than 200 miles away.

The pleasantries were part of a series of get-acquainted sessions the league is holding at its headquarters as it takes its first official steps toward relocating the Montreal Expos by the 2004 season. This afternoon, District Mayor Anthony A. Williams, D.C. Council Chairman Linda Cropp and a handful of other Washington civic leaders took their turn in a 1-hour 40-minute informal meeting with members of the MLB relocation committee.

Government officials from Portland, Ore., also met with the committee today; a delegation from Northern Virginia is scheduled for Wednesday. None of the potential ownership groups vying to buy the Expos was present at any of the meetings as baseball officials instead attempted to discern how financially committed each area's state and local governments are to attracting a team.

"The committee is clearly focused on funding," said Bobby Goldwater, president and executive director of the D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission.

Speaking on behalf of the District delegation, Goldwater characterized today's meeting as "very informal. It was just an exchange of information. Clearly the committee wanted to understand how things could get done [in Washington], the timing and process."

Sometime in the next two months, the cities will be asked to come back and make more formal, detailed presentations that outline plans for stadium funding and other financial support. The District is considering several public-private funding options, and Goldwater said the city hopes to "have something to put forward very, very shortly."

In the meantime, the delegation focused on the economic attractiveness of the Washington area and a recent track record of successful civic projects, such as the new convention center.

"The big thing Mayor Williams and Chairman Cropp stressed were the accomplishments of the District, demonstrating that when there is a will to get things done in Washington, D.C., they get done," Goldwater said. "All the government and business support, the passion for baseball, the history of baseball -- at the end of the day, we believe there's no better place to relocate a baseball team."

Portland officials, of course, would beg to differ. In their meeting today -- which lasted about an hour longer than Washington's -- a delegation led by Mayor Vera Katz stressed government officials' creative financing plans, as well as the convenience of a modern minor league facility that could serve a team in the next few years while a new, larger stadium is built.

But Portland officials were also honest about the financial problems that have recently plagued Oregon statewide. "I think we were able to tell them that we're under strain right now; we shared some of the pressing issues we have back home," said David Kahn, the former Indiana Pacers general manager who is leading the Portland baseball campaign. Still, he added, "we're clearly a leading candidate, and I think we introduced them to our city in a way that cemented that even further."

Next up will be the Virginia delegation, which will include Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, and then baseball will set a schedule of yet another round of presentations, meetings and conversations between men and women in suits.

"It's the start of a process," Goldwater said. "And for a city and a market that hasn't had a major league baseball team in 32 years, it's certainly something we hope will lead to a longstanding goal."

© 2003 The Washington Post Company