Washington, DC (My Sportsbook) - Washington's wait is over for the return of a Major League Baseball team, as it was announced on Wednesday that the Montreal Expos will be relocated to the nation's capital in 2005.
The Expos franchise, which has been in existence since 1969, will play its home contests at RFK Stadium starting next year.
Relocation of the club is subject to certain contingencies, including a formal vote of ownership at the next owners' meeting in November and passage of legislation by the District of Columbia Council to provide for financing and construction of a ballpark on the Anacostia River waterfront in Southeast Washington.
The move to get a professional baseball team back in D.C. comes nearly 33 years to the day the expansion Washington Senators played their final home game at RFK Stadium. That was on September 30, 1971, and following that season the Senators moved to Texas and became the Rangers.
The Washington team, which has still yet to be named, is expected to play its home games at RFK Stadium for the first three seasons until a new stadium is built. It's been reported approximately $440 million will be needed to fix up the old stadium and build a new one.
"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 shown by Mayor (Anthony) Williams throughout this long process," commissioner Bud Selig said. "There has been tremendous growth in the Washington, D.C. 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."
Washington, D.C. is the largest market in the country in terms of population (5.4 million) and television market size (8th) without a Major League Baseball team.
Northern Virginia, Norfolk, Las Vegas, Portland, Oregon, and Monterrey, Mexico had also been mentioned as possible locations for the Expos for next season. In the short term, rather than relocate the team, a chunk of Montreal's home schedule was played in San Juan, Puerto Rico the last two years.
Major League Baseball also announced that it will begin to accept and review bids of prospective ownership groups and expects to have new ownership in place for the Washington team at the beginning of the 2005 season. The Expos were bought by the other 29 clubs before the 2002 season.
Former Rangers partner Fred Malek and Stan Kasten, former president of the Atlanta Braves, Hawks and Thrashers, have reportedly been mentioned as possible buyers for the Washington team.
Major League Baseball's eight-man executive council met last week and reportedly one of the final pieces to the puzzle was working out an agreement with Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos. He has resisted baseball's plans to move the Expos to Washington for fear of the impact it would have on the Orioles since their home of Camden Yards is only 40 miles from DC.
"It's not only my affection and respect for Peter Angelos, but it's my feeling that you know we don't want to hurt the existing franchise," Selig said. "On the other hand, we wanted to go to the best place we can go to as far as Major League Baseball. In the end, I had a responsibility to make every decision based on what I believe is in the best interests of the sport, and this is it."
According to statements from Selig and Angelos, both sides were working toward an agreement, one reportedly that would include compensation to ensure the financial stability of the Orioles.
"As for the agreement, I'd really prefer to keep all of that between Mr. Angelos and myself and baseball," Selig said. "We have people that have been working on this, and I'm very comfortable telling you that in the end, I want equity on all sides."
"Our negotiations with Major League Baseball are continuing," Angelos said in a statement. "We have made substantial progress but have not yet reached agreement. Our aim has been to protect and preserve the Orioles franchise and the economic benefits it has generated for Baltimore for the past 50 years. Equally important have been our efforts to protect Maryland's investment in Camden Yards."
The Expos started play in the majors in 1969 at Jarry Park. They experienced the playoffs just once in their history, in 1981 when the season was cut short due to a work stoppage. They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The team experienced winning campaigns in 2002 and 2003, but this year has been a much different story. Montreal will finish with 90-plus losses for a fifth time in seven seasons.
The team played its final home game Wednesday night at Olympic Stadium before 31,395 fans, as the Expos were swept in a three-game set by the Florida Marlins. The first two games of the series drew just 3,923 and 5,416 fans, respectively.
The game, won 9-1 by Florida, was delayed for nearly 10 minutes in the top of the third inning as players were removed from the field because fans were throwing golf balls and one landed near second base. A few plastic bottles were thrown onto the field in the sixth inning, but the game was not delayed at that juncture.
The new Washington team will continue to play in the National League East, along with the Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. The first Washington, D.C. franchise joined the National League in 1886 and was part of the NL, except for a two-year hiatus in 1890-91, until the National League contracted Washington and three other franchises in 1900.
