SAN ANTONIO, April 3 (UPI) -- David Sansom, president of the Florida Marlins, says that a multi-million-dollar television deal is the minimum requirement for the team to move to San Antonio.
In an interview with the San Antonio Express-Times, Sansom said that sales of stadium naming, rights, season tickets and sky boxes are required for a healthy franchise. But he called TV revenue the "engine that keeps the train rolling."
Marlins officials have said the team would prefer to stay in South Florida. But they said that also depends on whether they can get at least $100 million more in aid plus free land for a stadium that would be only for baseball.
Bexar County in Texas has offered to put up $200 million for a San Antonio.
"Our talks with San Antonio are serious," owner Jeffrey Loria told the newspaper. "We like what we see and will continue this process. But like all processes it takes time, and we want to be thorough and deliberate."
Loria and Sansom talked to the Express-Times before Sunday's exhibition between the Marlins and the Texas Rangers.
