August 01, 2004
Angelos not for sale?
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos has reportedly told MLB officials he won't allow the Montreal Expos to move to Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia at any price. "The answer is no," Angelos reportedly told MLB high priest Bud Selig. "You don't destroy a franchise in return for some kind of cash payment." Other reports had Angelos claiming a team in the D.C. area would cost the O's $40 million a year in lost revenue, which would mean it would take something like a $700 million buyout for Angelos to be made whole - far more than the Expos are expected to sell for.
If these reports are true, Selig is in a pickle: No other cities have made firm offers of public stadium money, which was the whole point of this years-long debacle in the first place (though there are still rumors of a casino-funded stadium in Las Vegas). A three-quarters vote of other team owners would allow Selig to rescind the Orioles' territorial rights by force, but he'd then face a certain lawsuit, especially considering how Angelos made his money.
What Selig really needs at this point is to find a major metropolitan area with a solid baseball fan base, and an existing major-league-ready stadium that can be an interim home for a team. Yeah, too bad there isn't anyplace like that available.
