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RIGAS FACES DELAY IN BID FOR PIRATES
Published January 9, 1995
Adelphia Communications Chair John Rigas is still awaiting approval from MLB to start negotiations with the Pirates to buy the team. Rigas was the personal choice of Pittsburgh Mayor Murphy on November 19 to buy the team and keep them in the city. Under an agreement, if no deal is reached by January 29, the team could be sold to the highest bidder, "free of any lease obligations binding the team to Three Rivers Stadium." At a news conference with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Rigas called MLB's delay "frustrating": "We're a little impatient and we've got to get going." Pirates President Mark Sauer said baseball owners have been "preoccupied" with other issues, but that the team "was doing everything it can to expedite the approval process." Specter said he would take the matter up with acting Commissioner Bud Selig and White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf (Jon Schmitz, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/6).
