Just fold the damned team already.

I would hate to see this proud franchise fold, and besides, the players union would not let it fly

I wish the MLB would just suck it up already and put a team in Las Vegas.

Anyone who wants to bet can just go online and place a bet. You don't need to be in Vegas anymore.

Did you forget the sarcasm arrow?

Proud franchise?

I am glad that MLB stepped in to try to save a franchise, but there are so many reasons to fold this team now that I just can't see how they can keep operating.

can't happen this year. i've already gotten my season ticket package and it includes quite a few games against the nationals.

God did MLB butcher this.

Here's the lastest...
Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Ballpark financing issue may kill deal

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Washington's new baseball team shut down business and promotional operations indefinitely Wednesday as its move to the nation's capital teetered on the brink of collapse.

The decision by Major League Baseball followed the District of Columbia Council's decision Tuesday night to require private financing for at least half the cost of building a new stadium. The September agreement to move the Montreal Expos to Washington called for a ballpark fully financed by government money.

“ Here we are back where we were five years ago -- a city that cannot do what it says it's going to do. I'm saddened that we can go so far in five years and step back so far in five minutes. ”
— Mayor Anthony A. Williams

"Yes, I think baseball is now in jeopardy," Mayor Anthony A. Williams said.

A previously scheduled news conference to unveil new uniforms was called off and fans who bought tickets to watch the renamed Nationals next season at RFK Stadium can get refunds, said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.

Baseball will not resume talks with other cities until after Dec. 31, the deadline in the agreement for Washington to put a ballpark financing law in place.

"In the meantime, the club's baseball operations will proceed, but its business and promotional activities will cease until further notice," DuPuy said.

He did not address where the team would play its 2005 home schedule if the deal with Washington falls through. It remains unclear whether baseball would move the franchise to RFK Stadium on a temporary basis, remain at Montreal's Olympic Stadium or go to another city.

Williams had signed the deal nearly three months ago, and publicly celebrated the return of major league baseball to Washington, which hasn't had a team since 1971.

"We had a deal. I believe the deal was broken, and the dream of 33 years is now once again close to dying. I would say close," Williams said at a news conference Wednesday.

Council Chair Linda W. Cropp proposed the amendment, which was approved 10-3 after she threatened to withhold support from the overall package, which then passed In a 7-6 vote.

"I am not trying to kill the deal," Cropp said. "I'm putting some teeth in it because I'm really disappointed with what I got from Major League Baseball."

The September agreement estimated the cost of building the ballpark and refurbishing RFK Stadium at $435 million, but critics claimed it would cost far more. The proposal, as initially approved by the council on Nov. 30, called for Washington to issue up to $531 million in bonds to cover the cost.

"I am very confident that we are going to be able to work through this and that we will have baseball here," said Councilman Jack Evans, who supported Williams on the original financing plan.

Bill Hall, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission's baseball committee, said, "We intend to deal with MLB's concerns and stadium cost issues in a way that keeps baseball in Washington, and do so over the next week or so."

Some of the communities that had lost out in the bidding for the team prepared to resume their efforts to lure the franchise.

"I don't think we've ever stopped," Norfolk group head Will Somerindyke Jr. said. "We always wanted to keep this area an option. If the opportunity arises for the Expos again, we are going to be standing there along with everyone else.

"Whether we could get something done by next year, I think that's a stretch," he added. "It would be very, very tough."

Somerindyke's organization has returned the deposits it collected on nearly 10,000 season tickets and almost 100 luxury boxes during its drive to get the Expos. He didn't think it would be difficult to get those deposits back.

Officials in Portland, Ore., were uncertain how to interpret the developments.

"We need to wait to see how Major League Baseball assesses this so we can respond," said Drew Mahalic of the Oregon Sports Authority.

Supporters of Oregon's campaign to land a major league team will update outgoing Portland Mayor Vera Katz next Tuesday, during a previously scheduled meeting concerning the city's efforts to attract a team and stadium financing.

"Obviously this is moving pretty fast," said Scott Farris, a spokesman for Katz. "We have not heard any word from major league baseball that they are reopening the relocation process."

The city has a finance plan for a new ballpark, Farris said. Baseball officials have said they want public financing for a new stadium in place before deciding where to relocate the team.

Mahalic said Oregon's bid for a major league team has never centered solely on the Expos. The Oregon Stadium Campaign has worked to keep Portland's pitch for baseball alive, in hopes of landing a team in the future.

"This is an ongoing pursuit," Mahalic said.

Northern Virginia's group had hoped to build a ballpark near Dulles International Airport.

"We hope that the District of Columbia will be able to fulfill the terms of its agreement and succeed in bringing Major League Baseball back to this region," Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority spokesman Brian Hannigan said.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman went to baseball's winter meetings last weekend trying to attract attention to his efforts to lure a team. But he could not offer a firm stadium plan.

"It's just a glint in my eye, at this point," he said.

Washington has lost teams twice before: The original Senators became the Minnesota Twins after the 1960 season and the expansion Senators transformed into the Texas Rangers following the 1971 season.

"Here we are back where we were five years ago -- the nation's capital, the center of the world, a city of possibility, aspiration and ambition and opportunity, and a city that cannot do what it says it's going to do," Williams said. "I'm saddened that we can go so far in five years and step back so far in five minutes."

The Expos became the first major league team outside the United States when they started play in 1969, but attendance at Olympic Stadium slumped over the past decade and the franchise was bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season. In 2003 and 2004, some of the team's home games were moved to Puerto Rico to raise revenue.

This brings up an interesting subject on the regard of public funding for stadiums--is it reasonable for DC to save its taxpayers some money and ask for some private funding? Can MLB's profits afford that? Could enough venture capital be found if not?

Of course it's reasonanble for DC to ask for private funding. Any city that pays for a stadium for a pro sports team to use is raping its' citizens.
I'm not sure who would want to "invest" in construction of a stadium, I'm not sure what you could possibly gain from partial ownership to a baseball stadium used by a team owned by either MLB or some billionaire.

Reasonable? It should be expected. Typically, when a major business wants to call a particular city home, the city uses grants and tax incentives to attract it. Case in point, when Boeing moved its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, the City of Chicago pulled out all the stops to beat out Houston and Denver. In doing so, however, the hit to the taxpayer was minimal.

No other business besides sports' organizations can rely on the taxpayer for money to subsidize its entire existence. While the owner gets to call a city the home of his or her franchise, what he receives in terms of public financing to enable his or her franchise is ridiculous. Then what? Does he give back to the city in profits what he receives in revenue or equity? Of course not. Instead, he strikes TV and sponsorship deals where the taxpayer that initially enabled him sees ziltch. Sure, there are tangential benefits to the city, but they are nothing compared to what the ownership and organization take in.

Reasonable? How about required?

*looks at avatars*

fuck this thread

That is the reason why Fenway Park hasn't been rebuilt yet. Boston voted on it and won't give a dime to the Red Sox to build a new park. Same thing happend when Bobby Kraft wanted to rebuild Foxboro Stadium (now Gillette Stadium.) I think, unless the city is desperate for tourism, almost all funding will be private.

OK, good, I was thinking pretty much the same thing--MLB is whining for handouts. Thanks for answering the question.

i read an article this morning that said folding the Expos would save every ball team about 40 million dollars. i dont know the specific deal but every owner owns a part of the expos right??

im all for contraction. baseball is so watered down. basketball too.

contract the Expos. take the MLB team records from last year. rank them from worst record to best record and have a draft with the remaining Expos.

each bad team gets a little bit better = better quality baseball = more fans

Vegas baby VEGAS!

(I. Queen)
The MGM Grand people need to go ahead and anounce a
new mega hotel/casino/55,000 seat baseball park on the
south end of the strip TODAY. It'll cost
approximately 2 billion dollars and have about 1.5
million square feet of casino space. The hotel should
have "clubhouse" rooms that overlook the field, and
the field should easily convert to a horse track
during the off-season. Add a ridiculous water park, a
200,000 sq.ft. sportsbook with 150 ft. TV's, and
perhaps a golf course, and you're talking about the
most premier resort ever concieved.

Do it, Vegas. Don't worry about what baseball is
doing. If you build it, they will come...

--------------------------------------------------------------

Strippers on top of the dug outs and 2 decidedly less pesky "foul/stripper" poles. Now that's exciting baseball!

Does baseball require that there be an even number of teams in the league? If so, that might make contracting just the Expos difficult.

I've been to 5 Expos games at Olympia Stadium. We always tried to plan our Montreal trips around home games. I also scored a t-shirt from their t-shirt cannon mobile that they drive around during the 7th inning stretch. I'll miss you, boys.