D.C. fights to acquire Montreal Expos

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WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- The District of Columbia is stepping up efforts to relocate the Montreal Expos to its turf, despite opposition from Baltimore, the Washington Times said.

District officials held a 65-minute meeting with Major League Baseball's relocation committee in Washington Thursday.

"We heard an excellent presentation," said John McHale, part of a seven-person MLB contingent led by Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. "If we weren't serious about Washington, we wouldn't be here."

Now in its third year of owning the financially foundering Expos, MLB has said it wants to find a new owner by mid-summer.

The projected costs of a district ballpark range from $278 million to $383 million. A new stadium would be funded primarily by revenue bonds serviced by ballpark-related sales taxes and either a gross-receipts or personal-property tax on large D.C. businesses.

Mayor Anthony Williams and other city officials fear any bid to put a team in the District would be thwarted by Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who has strongly opposed the placement of a club in Washington.