Craig
11-20-2002, 04:12 PM
http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/artic...120/440453.html (http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/articles/20021120/440453.html)
Expos to play 22 games in Puerto Rico
November 20, 2002
IRVING, Texas -- The Montreal Expos will play 22 of their 81 home games in Puerto Rico next year, and the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will start the season with the major leagues' second opening in Japan.
Expos president Tony Tavares said that with the guaranteed income from the games in San Juan, his team will not have to conduct a "fire sale" of players such as Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon. Still, he did not reveal the Expos' planned payroll.
As baseball owners ended their meeting Wednesday, commissioner Bud Selig also formed a committee to determine the long-term fate of the Expos, who were purchased from Jeffrey Loria earlier this year, and formed a marketing task force to examine how baseball attracts fans. He also said he will present ideas to owners in January on the All-Star Game, which ended in a tie last July when the teams ran out of pitchers.
Baseball announced that the Expos would play three homestands at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan without identifying specific opponents, but the hoped-for schedule was revealed by several baseball officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Subject to negotiations with the players' association, the Expos would play a 10-game homestand in San Juan in April, with games against the New York Mets (April 11-14), Atlanta (April 15-17) and Cincinnati (April 18-20).
The second homestand would include the World Series champion Anaheim Angels (June 3-5) and Texas (June 6-8), and the last would have Florida (Sept. 5-7) and the Chicago Cubs (Sept. 9-11).
"It doesn't affect me where we play," Expos manager Frank Robinson said Tuesday after agreeing to come back for a second season in Montreal. "It will be great to play in front of the people down there. They're great fans. I spent nine years down there managing in winter ball."
San Juan was the host for its first regular-season game in 2001, the season opener between Texas and Toronto.
The Expos have been at or near the bottom in attendance in recent years at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and the commissioner's office wants to cut losses.
Montreal drew just 812,000 fans to its home games this year, and baseball isn't ready to decide on a permanent move. The games in San Juan are seen as a method to increase revenue.
"Puerto Rico will help a lot because you are collecting U.S. dollars and certain dollars, if you will, because there are guarantees involved," Tavares said.
Baseball has asked Puerto Rican organizers to guarantee revenue from the games on the Caribbean island.
"We went there last year to open the season. It was terrific," Rangers owner Tom Hicks said. "We're totally open to it."
The players' association had argued for two homestands in San Juan instead of three, seeking to minimize dislocation. The union, which must approve the games, wants baseball to pay for families to join players on the shifted homestands and also wants additional meal money.
"This is going to require some discussion with us. This is not a done deal," Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, said shortly before the announcement.
Baseball officials hope to have a permanent solution for 2004, and probably will hold a bidding process. Charlotte, N.C., Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., are among the possible contenders. Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, hopes to have a decision by midsummer.
The games between the A's and Mariners at the Tokyo Dome also require the union's approval. They are scheduled for March 25 and 26 -- nearly a week ahead of most teams, who open March 31. The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs played the first regular-season games in Japan, opening the 2000 season with a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome.
Expos to play 22 games in Puerto Rico
November 20, 2002
IRVING, Texas -- The Montreal Expos will play 22 of their 81 home games in Puerto Rico next year, and the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will start the season with the major leagues' second opening in Japan.
Expos president Tony Tavares said that with the guaranteed income from the games in San Juan, his team will not have to conduct a "fire sale" of players such as Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon. Still, he did not reveal the Expos' planned payroll.
As baseball owners ended their meeting Wednesday, commissioner Bud Selig also formed a committee to determine the long-term fate of the Expos, who were purchased from Jeffrey Loria earlier this year, and formed a marketing task force to examine how baseball attracts fans. He also said he will present ideas to owners in January on the All-Star Game, which ended in a tie last July when the teams ran out of pitchers.
Baseball announced that the Expos would play three homestands at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan without identifying specific opponents, but the hoped-for schedule was revealed by several baseball officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Subject to negotiations with the players' association, the Expos would play a 10-game homestand in San Juan in April, with games against the New York Mets (April 11-14), Atlanta (April 15-17) and Cincinnati (April 18-20).
The second homestand would include the World Series champion Anaheim Angels (June 3-5) and Texas (June 6-8), and the last would have Florida (Sept. 5-7) and the Chicago Cubs (Sept. 9-11).
"It doesn't affect me where we play," Expos manager Frank Robinson said Tuesday after agreeing to come back for a second season in Montreal. "It will be great to play in front of the people down there. They're great fans. I spent nine years down there managing in winter ball."
San Juan was the host for its first regular-season game in 2001, the season opener between Texas and Toronto.
The Expos have been at or near the bottom in attendance in recent years at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and the commissioner's office wants to cut losses.
Montreal drew just 812,000 fans to its home games this year, and baseball isn't ready to decide on a permanent move. The games in San Juan are seen as a method to increase revenue.
"Puerto Rico will help a lot because you are collecting U.S. dollars and certain dollars, if you will, because there are guarantees involved," Tavares said.
Baseball has asked Puerto Rican organizers to guarantee revenue from the games on the Caribbean island.
"We went there last year to open the season. It was terrific," Rangers owner Tom Hicks said. "We're totally open to it."
The players' association had argued for two homestands in San Juan instead of three, seeking to minimize dislocation. The union, which must approve the games, wants baseball to pay for families to join players on the shifted homestands and also wants additional meal money.
"This is going to require some discussion with us. This is not a done deal," Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, said shortly before the announcement.
Baseball officials hope to have a permanent solution for 2004, and probably will hold a bidding process. Charlotte, N.C., Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C., are among the possible contenders. Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, hopes to have a decision by midsummer.
The games between the A's and Mariners at the Tokyo Dome also require the union's approval. They are scheduled for March 25 and 26 -- nearly a week ahead of most teams, who open March 31. The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs played the first regular-season games in Japan, opening the 2000 season with a two-game series at the Tokyo Dome.