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Portland group might be out of running for Expos, but it's not giving up
Even if Montreal's team ends up going elsewhere, David Kahn says the city still wants a franchise
By JOHN HUNT
The Oregonian
Friday, July 02, 2004

Despite mounting reports that Major League Baseball is leaning toward relocating the Montreal Expos to the Washington, D.C., area, Portland has not been eliminated -- or withdrawn itself -- from contention.

"We're doing everything we can to attract a major league team," Oregon Stadium Campaign leader David Kahn said. "It's not just about now; it's about later, too."

Sports Illustrated and USA Today reported this week that Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia are the top two choices of the relocation committee. Kahn reiterated that Portland is in it for the long haul.

Kahn said Portland still wants the Expos, and Bob DuPuy, MLB's chief operating officer, said no area has been eliminated from contention.

But unlike officials from Norfolk, Va., and the Washington area, nobody from Portland has met with relocation committee members recently. MLB officials have not revisited Portland, nor have they gone to any of the other markets.

Portland proponents still plan to update the committee within two weeks about the status of not only the finance plan, but also site selection, a marketing plan and other information.

"I don't think we're reinventing the wheel here," said Kahn, who said he wants to assemble all the new and old data into one "mega-binder" for Major League Baseball.

DuPuy met with commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday and briefed him on the relocation candidates, including the update that Portland officials sent to the relocation committee during the owners meetings in New York in May.

Las Vegas and Monterrey, Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, also are vying for the relocation of the Expos, who currently are owned by the 29 major league owners. Selig and DuPuy have said that although a decision by the All-Star break is highly unlikely, they plan to decide on the Expos' new home in time for the 2005 season.

"I don't anticipate that, say, if two weeks from today baseball says, 'We're putting the team in Place Y,' and Y is not Portland, I don't think anybody is going to stick their hands in their pockets and stop," Kahn said.

John Hunt: 503-294-7643; johnhunt@news.oregonian.com