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BringThePain! wrote:1735 brings me freedom....

Baseball Coming Back to D.C. After 33 Years

By Thomas Heath and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 29, 2004; 5:19 PM

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig today informed District officials that the Montreal Expos will be playing for Washington on Opening Day in April, ending the city's 33-year wait for baseball to return.

"Congratulations. It's a long time coming," Selig told District Mayor Anthony A. Williams and a roomful of council members and city sports and entertainment officials during a 4:05 p.m. conference call.

Afterward Williams spoke to reporters as he left City Hall to head to a formal announcement and celebration at the downtown City Museum.

"I'm elated," Williams said. "We put a lot of time into this, and it's finally paid off."

The announcement ended a two-year saga in which baseball has sought to find a new home for the ailing Expos, who have lost millions of dollars over the years and have one of the lowest attendance records in baseball.

"Washington, D.C., as our nation's capital, is one of the world's most important cities and Major League Baseball is gratified at the skill and perseverance show by Mayor Williams throughout this long process," Selig said in a statement. "There has been tremendous growth in the Washington DC area over the last 33 years and we in Major League Baseball believe that baseball will be welcomed there and will be a great success."

District officials said that they knew at 8 p.m. last night that they would get the call at 4 p.m. today, but Williams said he still was nervous today.

"I was always looking for wood paneling, wood tables -- something to knock on," he said.

Immediately after the call from Selig, officials including Williams signed a 30-page memo of understanding promising to build a stadium on South Capitol Street and to pay for it with city funds. The document had already been signed by Expos officials.

Expos President Tony Tavares also told reporters in Montreal that the team would be moving.

"It's a day when the sun is setting in Montreal, but it's rising in Washington," Tavares told a news conference at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. "To those of you in Washington, I say I look forward to seeing you down there."

The announcement followed several days of negotiations between Major League Baseball and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos on a compensation package that would give Angelos certain financial guarantees to offset the impact of a team in Washington.

The city has promised to build a $400 million stadium on the Anacostia River waterfront, where the Expos, who will likely be renamed by its new owner, will play starting in the 2008 season. Renovations to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, where the team will play until its new home is completed, will take at least three months, according to Mark H. Tuohey, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission and the city's point man on the Expos deal.

Baseball is hoping the Expos will fetch more than $300 million in an auction. The league is likely to put the team up for sale this fall and possibly close the deal by year's end, which would give a new ownership group an opportunity to put its stamp on the organization. The Washington Baseball Club, a group of powerful local businessmen who have been spearheading efforts to get a franchise in the city, is expected to be among the contenders.

Washington, D. C., was chosen over five other locations vying for the Expos, including Northern Virginia, Norfolk, Las Vegas, Portland, Ore., and Monterrey, Mexico. Baseball all but settled on the District at a meeting of its executive council in Milwaukee last week, where the District's bid overwhelmed the competition.

An announcement on the Expos' fate was needed by the end of the week in order to give the D.C. Council enough time to approve the legislation for the new stadium and the $13 million it will cost to renovate RFK.

Williams, who met with several council members or their staffs Tuesday, said he is optimistic that he has enough support on the council to get the stadium built. He said that Council chairman Linda W. Cropp, a Democrat, emphasized at the meeting that he and other city officials have to sell the virtues of the stadium through a public education campaign.

Williams said the campaign will focus on three things: how the stadium is being paid for; how it benefits community by adding jobs and businesses; how it will generate development and improve recreation facilities for children. He said they have to take the message to every neighborhood in the city and detail the benefits for residents.

Baseball's 29 owners bought the Expos for $120 million in February 2002 from Jeffrey Loria, who now owns the Florida Marlins. The Expos, who were to play their final game in Montreal tonight, have lost tens of millions over the years.

Baseball President Robert A. DuPuy and Angelos met Tuesday for six hours in Angelos's Baltimore law offices. Angelos called the negotiations "a work in progress. We are trying to make a deal, but we have not reached a point of agreement."

Said DuPuy: "We had a very constructive dialogue and explored a number of areas of concern on his part, consistent with his desire to protect the franchise and protect the Baltimore community. No agreement was reached, but a number of ideas were offered for consideration. I'm going back to review those with the commissioner and members of our staff."

Angelos has said a team in Washington will hurt the Orioles. But after months of saying he would refuse to allow the Expos' relocation to the District, Angelos said Tuesday he would agree to a team if baseball met certain conditions.

"Those conditions are the preservation of the franchise, the protection of the asset and the safety of the revenue stream," Angelos said. "If those ingredients are present, an agreement can be struck."

The three-pronged proposal calls for the Orioles' participation in a regional sports network together with the Washington team; for baseball to make up for any revenue shortfall the Orioles might suffer because of the new team; and for baseball to also guarantee the Orioles' value will not decline below a certain level in the event of a sale. Baseball would make up the difference, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Angelos reportedly wants the financial guarantees to be effective indefinitely, while baseball wants the guarantees to last only as long as Angelos owns the team.

Scooter wrote:and a good team to boot

redskincity wrote:It will change many lives.

The new ballpark will benefit every single resident of the District even if they never go to a game. How? By creating hundreds of new jobs. By leading to the revitalization of the entire Anacostia Waterfront area. By becoming a leading philanthropic source. By stimulating a ripple effect of economic growth throughout the city. And by generating millions of dollars in new tax revenue that will go to schools, hospitals, police stations and social services throughout DC.

hailskins666 wrote:i agree with the traffic comment. DC traffic sucks ass. i wouldn't live there if it were the last place on the planet selling new homes. more power to those of you that do. i don't look foward to the drive up for that reason. actually i hate it. i couldn't live like that.

BringThePain! wrote:

hailskins666 wrote:i agree with the traffic comment. DC traffic sucks ass. i wouldn't live there if it were the last place on the planet selling new homes. more power to those of you that do. i don't look foward to the drive up for that reason. actually i hate it. i couldn't live like that.

You get use to it after awhile...

Hey! What are you doing in this thread anyways? Don't you have some paint to watch dry or something?