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Goal is more than Expos
Mayor Katz wants a financing package in place for now, or a future team, as baseball again promises a resolution by July
By JOHN HUNT
and DAN UTHMAN
The Oregonian
Friday, May 21, 2004

On a day when Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he expects a decision on the next home of the Montreal Expos by July, Mayor Vera Katz vowed Thursday to have a plan for baseball in Portland before she leaves office.

As Selig reiterated at owners' meetings in New York that he expects to make a decision on the Expos' fate by the mid-July All-Star break and have them sold and moved into a new home for the 2005 season, Katz and her baseball support team stressed at City Hall that their plan is about bringing the major leagues to Portland as much as it is about the Expos.

"If it's not the Expos, we will be there for the next possible team," said Katz, who is in her final term as mayor. "My commitment is to complete this financing plan before I leave and have all the partners sitting at this table and all the partners sitting out there to continue the work of working with major league (baseball) and trying to attract a team and an owner of a team."

The process of luring the Expos to Portland began in January 2003, when Katz and members of the Oregon Stadium Campaign traveled to New York to meet with MLB officials.

"It's never been about one franchise. Never," said David Kahn, head of the campaign. "It's always been about doing the right thing here, putting ourselves in a position for a franchise.

"It's important for us to reinforce the notion today that we're in this for the long haul."

Faced with a decade of declining revenue and attendance, the Expos were bought by Major League Baseball before the 2002 season. Portland; Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; Norfolk, Va.; Las Vegas; Monterrey, Mexico; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, are in the running to be the Expos' relocation site.

Selig elaborated on what MLB chief operating officer Bob DuPuy described as the commissioner's "grave concerns" about the impact of moving a team near an existing franchise. Washington, D.C. or Northern Virginia are considered the favorites to land the Expos, but Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos repeated his stance at the owners' meetings that such a team would hurt his franchise.

"It isn't only the Orioles," Selig said. "It's all teams. If my history and experience in the sport has taught me anything, the game from time to time has done some things internally that affected another team. I think it's the commissioner's responsibility to protect the 30 franchises."

Selig said the move of the Athletics to Oakland in 1968 did not take into account the effect it would have on the San Francisco Giants.

"As a result, for a long period of time, there was a lot of difficulty," he said. "We want to be thoughtful in this procedure."

Selig also said Las Vegas, even with its proximity to casinos and legalized gambling, is a viable contender for relocation.

"Life has changed," he said. "Are there conditions to Las Vegas, once we get into the final phases, that we would seriously look at? Yes, of course there are. It's premature yet.

"At this point, given the aggressiveness of Las Vegas, we are certainly willing to take a look at it. Are there a series of conditions we would need? That's for another day, but it's probably a fair assessment."

Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski killed an offer from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde that would have financed a stadium in exchange for the right to build a casino in the Portland area.

The latest financial plan offered by stadium campaign officials totaled $344 million of the $350 million projected cost. Portland is the only one of the competing cities or regions to have passed any financing through its legislature.

Selig said he expects the relocation committee to provide him a report and full market analysis on each of the potential relocation sites within the month.

"The point that we're trying to make," Katz said, "is that we're going to put a plan together that will be sustainable. If it's not the Expos, we will be there for the next possible team."

Hunt reported from New York, Uthman reported from Portland. John Hunt: 503-294-7643; [email]johnhunt@news.oregonian.com Dan Uthman: 503-294-5069; danuthman@news.oregonian.com