Expos bid remains unsettled

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 10:39 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

The man overseeing Major League Baseball's relocation of the Montreal Expos stressed again today that no decision had been made and no candidate eliminated in the process of finding a new home for the team.

Robert DuPuy, chairman of the relocation committee, was responding to a report today in USA Today that claimed the committee was leaning toward Washington, D.C., or northern Virginia ahead of other candidates -- including Las Vegas -- but that the committee was split on which of the two bids to accept.

Mike Shapiro, the chief consultant for Las Vegas Sports and Entertainment LLC, remained confident in the viability of the Las Vegas bid and dismissed the USA Today report.

"I'm not sure it's necessary for me to comment on every article that comes out," he said this morning. "I'm not comfortable with that."

DuPuy, who was scheduled to meet with commissioner Bud Selig today in Milwaukee, told USA Today that the possible negative impact a Washington-area franchise would have on the Baltimore Orioles would be a main topic of their discussions today.

Selig has expressed these concerns, citing has cited the market share lost by the San Francisco Giants beginning in 1968 when the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland.

The Washington area has been considered the leading contender to win the Expos because it has the biggest television market, the largest population and the highest household income of any of the candidates.

Selig had said the decision would be announced at the All-Star break next month, but recently that deadline has softened. Some reports have indicated that the list of candidates will be narrowed down at the break, but the final decision will come later.