Baseball and Washington: a winning combination

First it was the winter of 2002. Then the 2003 All-Star break. Then Labor Day 2003. Then this year's All-Star break in July. But now it seems as if the decade-old debate over where to relocate the financially floundering Montreal Expos will finally come to fruition. This time, the chronic deadline-postponing executives of Major League Baseball promise a decision by the World Series in October. The front runners for the Expos' future home are Washington, D.C.—the country's largest market without an MLB team—and Northern Virginia. The other potential cities for relocation are Norfolk, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, Las Vegas and Monterrey, Mexico; but a ballclub in downtown D.C. is the obvious choice.

A stadium in Washington would be much more convenient than one in the Virginia suburbs. In July, a reporter for The Washington Times commuted on three separate nights to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the likely Washington and Northern Virginia stadium locations, on the Anacostia waterfront near RFK stadium and Loudon County, respectively, starting from a location in suburban Maryland. It took him less than an hour to drive to the Orioles' ballpark in Baltimore, 36 minutes to take the Metro to RFK in southeast D.C. and more than an hour to get to Loudon County. The location in D.C would be accessible by public transportation, a convenience that is sure to draw many fans.

Residents of the greater Washington area support a local team, according to a survey commissioned by D.C. officials. The poll, conducted last August, of 919 baseball fans 18 and older in the District, Northern Virginia and suburban Maryland, found that 82 percent prefer a ballpark in D.C. over one in Loudoun County. Fans surveyed said they would attend fewer games in Loudoun mainly due to its inconvenient location and lack of public transportation, according to The Washington Post.

Furthermore, Washington has a baseball stadium ready for play next spring, a perk not available at any of the other possible relocation cities. The new D.C. team could play at RFK—a ballpark designed for baseball and the home of the Washington Senators ballclub before it relocated to Texas three decades ago—until a new stadium is built.

The only obstacle blocking this perfectly sensible and clear-cut move is Baltimore Orioles' owner Peter Angelos, who insists that a franchise in Washington would jeopardize the Orioles' financial stability. He asserts that the market does not exist for two MLB teams in the Baltimore-Washington area, and that the move would result in two economically weak franchises. However, the Baltimore-Washington market contains a half-million more people than the Oakland-San Francisco area, where the Giants and Athletics are on pace to draw 3.2 million and over 2 million fans, respectively, this season. Granted, both Bay Area teams have done well in recent years. But if the Orioles and a D.C. team are both successful in the standings, there is no reason why both can't thrive economically as well.

Many advocates of relocating the Expos to a location in D.C. fear that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, eager to appease the Orioles' owner, will settle on a team in Northern Virginia, a location that practically guarantees a financial loser, according to The Wall Street Journal. The fan base in the D.C. metropolitan area is twice as large as it is 25 miles from the city in Loudon, where the Virginia team would play.

The MLB relocation committee is expected to recommend the Expos be relocated to Washington. That essentially leaves the final decision up to Commissioner Selig. He should avoiding pandering to the griping Orioles owner, listen to the fans and restore America's pastime to our nation's capital.