After Wednesday's announcement of the impending sale of the
Cardinals by Anheuser-Busch, "almost immediately," St. Louis fans
and pundits wondered about the team moving, according to the ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. The consensus is that moving the team would
be "last resort." Royals GM Herk Robinson: "I had never even
considered the possibility." Cubs President Andy McPhail: "I
would be very surprised if baseball would leave St. Louis."
NBC's Bob Costas: "That scenario is so extreme, it's virtually
unthinkable" (Mike Eisenbath, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/29).
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS: Robert Manor reports Thomas Guilfoil,
who helped move the NFL Cardinals to Arizona, said he and
partners are interested in buying the team and keeping it in St.
Louis (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/29).
MONEY LOSERS? Jerri Stroud writes in the POST-DISPATCH that
sports economists "doubt" the Cardinals will really lose $12M
this year. Financial World editor Michael Ozanian says he would
believe the figure if it didn't include revenue from concessions,
parking and luxury suites. But A-B claims those figures are
included. Author Andrew Zimbalist: "It's important for Anheuser-
Busch to have good public relations. If they can hide behind
this smoke screen of baseball losing money, then [August Busch
III] doesn't have to deal with any claims he is not a good
American in not liking baseball" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH,
10/29).
