Major League Baseball will return to Washington, DC, after a 33-year absence when the Montreal Expos hit town after the end of this season.
Expos president Tony Tavares said in published reports that he would set up a new office and begin selling sponsorships, “a sprint” since the 2005 season begins in seven months.
Washington was chosen over five other locations vying for the Expos, including Northern Virginia, Norfolk, VA, Las Vegas, NV, Portland, OR, and Monterrey, Mexico. The city has promised to build a $400 million stadium on the Anacostia waterfront, where the Expos will play starting in the 2008 season. The team will play at RFK Stadium—home of the former Washington Senators—until the new facility is ready. The city will pursue a naming-rights deal for the ballpark.
The league, which purchased the Expos in 2002, will still own the team until it finds a suitable buyer.
According to published reports, MLB will also compensate the Baltimore Orioles, who play less than 40 miles away from the proposed new ballpark. MLB would be willing to guarantee the Orioles an undisclosed minimum amount of revenue each year and a minimum franchise value for the Orioles.
Though MLB has had two franchises called the Washington Senators, there is no guarantee the Expos will take on the moniker. According to MLB, the Texas Rangers—which moved from D.C. in 1972—own the rights to the name Washington Senators.
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