Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 9:38 a.m.
Major League Baseball owners are meeting today and Thursday in Philadelphia, meetings that at one point were considered the deadline for deciding the fate of the Montreal Expos.
That deadline evaporated, however, as commissioner Bud Selig, his deputies and the MLB relocation committee have again required more time to sift through the stadium finance plans from groups representing Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Norfolk, Va., and Las Vegas.
Portland, Ore., and Monterrey, Mexico, are also somewhere in the mix.
"Given the number of candidates and the number of moving pieces, we want to get it right and provide the best opportunity for a successful franchise," MLB president Robert DuPuy told the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, the distribution of information and misinformation on all fronts continues unabated.
Mike Shapiro, the point man of the Las Vegas effort, found one report particularly bothersome. He found much to dispute about an article in Friday's Washington Post about the likelihood of Las Vegas landing its first franchise of the four major sports.
"I would say there were a number of inaccuracies in the article," he said.
Although he thought it portrayed Las Vegas as a "very, very serious contender," Shapiro said "there were some things in there that were inaccurate and some things that, I don't think, provided the correct picture."
Shapiro remains hopeful that something will come out of the meetings in Philadelphia, even though the only real news is likely to be a contract extension for Selig.
Baseball's 29 other owners have run the team since February 2002, when they bought it for $120 million. They have reportedly lost about $1 million apiece, per season, in operating costs.
To acquire the team, a group or city must first show MLB that it is capable of financing the construction of a modern ballpark that will permanently house the Expos in 2007.
Washington and Northern Virginia, widely considered the favorites for most of the summer, have substantial elements of public financing in their stadium proposals that have demanded further inspection and refinement.
Shapiro's proposal, a 125-page manuscript that he submitted to MLB's Park Avenue headquarters May 14, calls for a $420 million stadium to be built, completely with private funds, on 15 acres behind Bally's and Paris Las Vegas.
Since overnighting that proposal to MLB, Shapiro said he has met with relocation committee members and baseball executives in New York to polish and sharpen LVSE's plan.
"Hopefully, we'll get some clarity out of (Philadelphia)," Shapiro said. "I know the folks at baseball are doing everything in their power to reach a decision as quickly as possible and trying to do what's in the best interest of the game."
Shapiro updated mayor Oscar Goodman at his City Hall office in a 30-minute chat last Thursday morning, after Shapiro taped a segment of "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" at the Las Vegas ONE studios.
Shapiro, who had appeared on Goodman's weekly television call-in show the previous week, said Goodman was grateful for the visit and update.
"It was an opportunity to share some information with the mayor, to make sure we were covering all of our bases and making sure our biggest supporter is fully aware of where things stand," Shapiro said. "He is the biggest cheerleader we have and he has offered his unqualified support anytime we need it."
Goodman has long favored a major league stadium being built downtown. Tuesday, he told the Sun that he hasn't changed that position, but if the private sector makes a deal "I won't interfere."
"We're waiting to hear from baseball," Goodman said. "Everybody is waiting. Baseball has to make a decision."
Northern Virginia, which has proposed a stadium within a massive town center near Dulles International Airport, and Norfolk are facing the expiration of most of the funding legislation for a Virginia ballpark on Jan. 1.
Gabe Paul, executive director of the Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority, told the Washington Times that that deadline is even sooner because of notification that is required for a lease procedure.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who will host his annual "D.C. Summer Fanfest" today at his team's store at Farragut Square in Washington, has opposed another team moving into his perceived territory. And Selig, an Angelos ally, has publicly talked about not wanting to damage any existing franchises.
However, financing issues, government approval, timing, traffic and zoning laws, USA Today reported Tuesday, have been more influential, so far, in keeping MLB from returning the game to the nation's capital than opposition from Angelos.
Washington has lost two Senators teams -- to Minnesota (after the 1960 season) and Texas (after '71).
Shapiro took issue with some of the Post's 38-paragraph story, primarily in regard to alleged details of LVSE's stadium proposal.
The Post never mentioned LVSE as the entity that is trying to woo the Expos with a 40,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof and the versatility to operate year-round by hosting other events, like boxing, soccer and concerts.
A vague reference to "one page in a 33-page booklet presented to MLB" mentioned a private construction loan of $200 million that LVSE -- not specifically named -- and its partners would seek, and $225 million that would be provided by third-party contributions.
But there is no time reference to the production or distribution of the "33-page booklet," and, Shapiro said, the entire 125-page proposal that he submitted to MLB in mid-May detailed stadium financing.
Stadium financing was never "one page" of a "33-page booklet," Shapiro said.
"I have no idea where he got that from," Shapiro said.
Shapiro declined to reveal how many investors are involved with LVSE or the portion of its investment that would be sought in a private construction loan. Naming rights that might net at least $100 million could be included in third-party contributions.
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