To read the Oregonian article click here

Portland, Las Vegas pass on trip to Houston
Baseball's relocation committee won't meet at the All-Star Game, but some contingents will be there looking for an edge
By JOHN HUNT
The Oregonian
Sunday, July 11, 2004

Major League Baseball's relocation committee will not meet in Houston during the All-Star break. Commissioner Bud Selig is not expected to make any announcement of substance about the Montreal Expos. In all probability, nothing will happen.

But that doesn't mean there won't be some politicking going on.

Contingents from Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Norfolk, Va., will descend upon Houston today and spend the next three days trying to sweet-talk Major League Baseball into relocating the vagabond Expos to their area.

Portland proponents, meanwhile, will be watching on television.

"I don't think it's really to anyone's advantage to go there and shake hands or whatever," said Drew Mahalic, chief executive officer of the Oregon Sports Authority, which is part of the Oregon Stadium Campaign. "It may be a prestigious and fun thing to do, but it's not what they're looking for."

Baseball backers in Las Vegas also have opted against making the trip.

"It's our understanding that the relocation committee will not meet," said Mike Shapiro, a consultant for Centerfield Management Group who has served as the point man for Las Vegas' efforts. "Our time is better spent staying here and continuing work on our stadium finance plan."

Could Portland and Las Vegas be missing an opportunity? Even after baseball officials began backing off their latest deadline of the All-Star break for deciding the Expos' fate, there were rumors the list of suitors would be trimmed to two or three.

That Portland and Las Vegas are staying home -- and the probability that Monterrey, Mexico, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, are seen only as temporary solutions -- would seem to provide a tidy final three, or at least a final 21/2.

Norfolk is widely assumed to be a distant third choice to Washington and Northern Virginia, assuming Major League Baseball is hesitant to move into the Las Vegas market and deal with the gambling issue.

"If I'm baseball, I don't know why I'd want a short list, anyway," said Will Somerindyke, the CEO of Norfolk Baseball Company.

Somerindyke's group has sold deposits for 85 suites and more than 8,000 season tickets, and he said he expects to crack 10,000 in ticket deposits "pretty quickly."

One member of Norfolk's five-person contingent is Rick Horrow, a sports attorney who has served as a consultant on more than 20 stadium deals.

In Northern Virginia, the backers are still pitching a stadium/development plan for the Dulles International Airport area.

"We're in ongoing communication with Major League Baseball and we're very optimistic," said Brian Hannigan, spokesman for the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority.

Asked if he expects any substantive discussions in Houston, Hannigan said, "They're certainly going to say, 'Have a nice day.' "

That would be more than Portland will get. Proponents here have not met with baseball officials face-to-face since March 2003, when representatives from Portland, Washington and Northern Virginia met with the relocation committee. During that time, MLB officials have met at least once with each of the other areas seeking the Expos.

Portland officials had hoped to put together a "mega-binder" of new, updated material for Major League Baseball officials in time for the All-Star break. As of Friday, that was looking unlikely.

But representatives from the D.C. government as well as the Washington Baseball Group will be in Houston, prepared to continue their dance that has been going on for more than a year, orchestrated in part by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

Angelos remains opposed to the relocation of the Expos to Washington or Northern Virginia, but he would accept a move to Norfolk.

As for whether Norfolk or any other markets would be eliminated from contention soon -- publicly or privately -- Game Plan LLC's Randy Vataha was skeptical.

Vataha, a consultant who worked on Portland's behalf until the summer of 2003, then switched to the Las Vegas effort, said all talk of narrowing the candidates is some ado about nothing.

"Narrowing it or not narrowing it -- I don't think it's particularly relevant," said Vataha, who said he expects more teams to relocate.

The Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins and Minnesota Twins -- all trying to build better revenue-producing stadiums -- are the teams most often mentioned as possible relocation candidates.

"Once they fix Montreal, with the current level of revenue sharing, the owners will start to look at those bottom-level teams that just suck money right out of the system," he said.

On Thursday, the A's owners gave a one-year contract extension to team vice president Lewis Wolff and offered him a major interest in the team if he finds a stadium site, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Co-owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann made the announcement to remind Oakland fans of their desire to find a stadium site in the Bay Area. The A's, who share Network Associates Coliseum with the NFL's Oakland Raiders, have been the team considered most likely to be targeted by Portland.

If the Expos move to Washington or Virginia, Portland probably would be in competition with Las Vegas for the next team willing to move. That is speculation, but with Major League Baseball, that's all anybody -- or most anybody -- has to go on.

"I know pretty well that there are about eight people who know what's going on," said Somerindyke of the Norfolk group. "And they're not talking to anybody."

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