Back in the game

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004 | 9:47 a.m.

The point man of a private group's attempt to bring the Montreal Expos to Las Vegas said Las Vegas Sports and Entertainment (LVSE) LLC did not dissolve when Major League Baseball put that franchise in Washington, D.C., in September.

Should baseball reopen the relocation of the team on Jan. 1, as it threatened Wednesday because of stadium financing alterations by the District of Columbia Council, Shapiro said LVSE would want to be involved.

Above all, however, Shapiro, a consultant with Centerfield Management Group in the San Francisco Bay Area who has extensive MLB ties, expressed caution.

"One of the few virtues one gains from age, wisdom and experience is some patience and understanding that there's a political process that is going to have its ups and downs," Shapiro said. "You can't overreact in the midst of a process."

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman capitalized on a wave of publicity last weekend by espousing his city as a major league player at baseball's winter meetings in Anaheim, Calif., but he tempered his comments Wednesday.

"I would not wish any harm to come to Washington," Goodman said, "but Las Vegas is the best place for a baseball team."

The political process in Washington kicked into high gear Tuesday, when council chair Linda W. Cropp capped a meeting of nearly 12 hours with an amendment to seek private financing for at least half the cost of building a new stadium along the Anacostia River waterfront.

That would amount to $140 million, according to councilman Jack Evans. The council approved a financing package of nearly $1 billion by a 7-6 vote. Then, in a surprise move, the provision was attached by a 10-3 vote.

Las Vegas, via LVSE's efforts, made a final cut for the Expos, with Northern Virginia and Norfolk, Va. Northern New Jersey and Portland, Ore., might contend for the team if it goes back on the relocation market.

MLB had moved the Expos to Washington, and changed their nickname to the Nationals, intending to have a ballpark built completely with public funds.

On Sept. 29, Washington Mayor Anthony A. Williams and the Expos signed a "Baseball Stadium Agreement" with MLB that called for the District government to enact that financing for the new stadium by Dec. 31.

Williams told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the Council's plan to require some private financing was a curve ball that will kill the game's return to the nation's capital.

"I believe the deal is broken," Williams said. "A complete violation" of the Sept. 29 deal, Evans told the Washington Post of the Cropp amendment.

The unveiling of the Nationals uniforms was canceled Wednesday, the team was ordered to cease its business and promotional activities by MLB, and those who made ticket deposits were allowed to get refunds through a team office.

Baseball has also failed to appease Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who opposes a team being moved 40 miles from Baltimore, but that issue paled in comparison to the latest development by the D.C. Council.

That twist was the hot talk-radio topic Wednesday in the D.C. area, but City Councilwoman Kathy Patterson told the Sun that the request for an element of private stadium financing wasn't a "killer amendment" to the deal.

"Las Vegas should not assume that Major League Baseball is automatically going to rebuff Washington and start looking for another home for the team," Patterson said. "The economic engine in Washington is strong and the city is full of innovative financiers and developers."

Still, Patterson, who voted against the final stadium financing package and for the amendment, admitted that the latest development in the Expos' drama "injects an element of uncertainty" into Washington's bid to permanently secure its first baseball franchise since 1971.

"I'm sure," Patterson said, "the people who want Major League Baseball to come to their city will see this as an opening."

Williams did not share Patterson's outlook about Washington's economic engine and its innovative financiers and developers.

"The dream is now close to dying," Williams told the AP. "We're in great jeopardy here, and I think I'm being optimistic."

Bob DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer, said as much in a written statement.

"The legislation approved by the District of Columbia City Council (Tuesday) night does not reflect the agreement we signed and relied upon after being invited by District leaders to consider Washington as a home for Major League Baseball," DuPuy said.

"The legislation is inconsistent with our carefully negotiated agreement and is wholly unacceptable to Major League Baseball."

DuPuy added that MLB will not entertain offers for permanent relocation of the franchise until Jan. 1, when the Sept. 29 agreement with Williams expires.

It is not known if RFK Stadium, where the Nats would play until their new stadium is ready in 2008, would be used as a temporary home for the team, even for a season, if that private financing demand isn't met.

"We thank the fans of Washington, D.C.," DuPuy said, "for their support and enthusiasm."

While Williams scrambles over the next two weeks, Shapiro, Chicago-area entrepreneur Lou Weisbach and Goodman might each play roles in boosting Las Vegas as a major-league city.

Shapiro confirmed that LVSE remains an entity very much interested in helping Las Vegas acquire a baseball team, but the window for building a stadium behind Paris Las Vegas and Bally's has shut.

That model called for the construction of a $420 million, retractable-roof stadium that would have been built entirely with private financing. Caesars Entertainment Inc. owns that 15 acres and would have functioned solely as a landlord.

"That chapter closed," Shapiro said. "There's now a different chapter. Site, financing ... there's a whole range of issues that need to be re-examined in light of the change in circumstance. Time has passed. It (would be) a different deal altogether."

Shapiro has been involved with a group that is trying to buy the Nationals. His wife greeted him early Wednesday with a handful of phone messages after a grueling nine-hour overnight flight from Washington.

Goodman met with officials from the Florida Marlins, and two other teams in secrecy, last week. Wednesday night, a source in Miami said Marlins executives are optimistic about securing a deal for a new stadium in South Florida.

The Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins have received much attention as two clubs with attendance problems that could seek to relocate in the near future.

Goodman joked that he received "9 million calls" Wednesday morning, but he declined to reveal any of those identities.

Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown, who attended last weekend's winter meetings with Goodman, believes the Expos will remain in Washington, but he said any publicity the latest D.C. development generates for Las Vegas is good.

If any team eventually relocates to Las Vegas, MLB executives view Monterrey, Mexico, as a suitable temporary home until a major-league stadium is built.

Goodman promotes two downtown sites for a stadium. The Strip, unlike the downtown area, does not fall under Goodman's jurisdiction.

Shapiro said LVSE, which consists of an international group of financiers who have confidentiality agreements to protect their identities, could work with Goodman and the city on a stadium plan.

"Absolutely," Shapiro said. "We'd have complete interest in talking with the mayor on a partnership."

And answering many, many questions.

"If you don't know how you're going to finance a facility or where you're going to build a facility, it's hard to go out to the team market place and say, 'We'll bring a team in,' " Shapiro said.

"Who will own that team? Who will relocate a team, if baseball permits? There's a whole different set of dynamics that have to be analyzed before you say where you'll put a stadium and how it will be financed."

Weisbach had originally brought Shapiro into the Vegas project more than a year ago, but the two have split into independent organizations.

Weisbach has been a prominent player in Teamscape LLC, which includes Chicago Cubs broadcaster Steve Stone, and he recently established Stadium Capital Associates.

"We are prepared to finance the team and/or a stadium in Las Vegas, if it comes available," Weisbach said. "From my view, there's a move every day. To comment every day on the travails of the situation just doesn't make any sense.

"We'll let this thing play out. Vegas will get a team, no matter what. It will. As you've seen in the last week or two, whether it's Montreal or another team, it's pretty real."

Goodman and Shapiro firmly believe that Las Vegas finished second to Washington in the long race for the Expos and that that process convinced many baseball executives to deign Vegas as the next relocation candidate.

MLB officials, according to industry sources, would be much more inclined to allow a team to move to Las Vegas on its own volition rather than deal with scrutiny that the league itself might draw for moving a team here.

That would again factor into a decision on the Expos franchise if a deal with Washington crumbles.

"There's a lot of speculation," Shapiro said. "You have to take a hard look. Is it definitive? Is it a done deal? I would say, by no means is it a done deal. There's still a lot of room for negotiations and discussions and creative solutions.

"(But) if that deal falls through ... the Las Vegas market is ready for (the Expos). We've maintained all along that Las Vegas is a credible market and it does make sense for it to be one of the places being given consideration."

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