Major League Sports: May 2004 Archives
Mayor Vera Katz "vowed" to have a plan for getting a baseball team in Portland before she leaves office. I doubt it will be the Expos. In addition to Portland, Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; Norfolk, Va.; Las Vegas; Monterrey, Mexico; and San Juan, Puerto Rico are all vying for the team. Is Portland a better home for baseball than these places? Plus Las Vegas is said to be "aggressive" in their pursuit.
Oh if only Gov. Kulongoski would have been more interested in trading a downtown casino for stadium financing. Then we'd have baseball and gambling! Katz is framing the deal so even if we don't get the Expos she won't look like a loser, "The point that we're trying to make," Katz said, "is that we're going to put a plan together that will be sustainable. If it's not the Expos, we will be there for the next possible team." [Oregonian]
by Alan Harris
We are sitting behind left field,
you and I, alone in the stadium.
We watch home plate where
no batter swings at no ball
that no pitcher has pitched.
Intently we follow no action anywhere.
Portland unveiled it's plans for a new stadium today. This was one of the main stumbling blocks preventing Portland from being awarded the soon to be relocated Montreal Expos. I understand why some people don't want a baseball team, but I would love it so much as a sports fan and I think it would up Portland's prestige (Portland is the largest city in the US with only 1 major sports fanchise). Washington DC has been the leader of the pack in the competition for the Expos, with Las Vegas being the subject of a lot of recent rumors.