Astros Owner Drayton McLane said yesterday he needed to know
within a week if there was enough fan support to keep the Astros
in Houston. McLane's comments, made after meeting with Harris
County Judge Robert Eckels, set a deadline on determining whether
local officials can guarantee the annual sale of 25,000 season
tickets, find local investors to buy at least 30% of the team,
and improve the playing conditions for the Astros. Meanwhile,
Eckels raised the possibility of a 45,000-seat, baseball-only,
retractable-roof stadium next to the Astrodome. But McLane would
not guarantee staying in Houston, even with a new stadium.
McLane: "We don't want to force something the people don't want"
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/31). There has been speculation that
McLane has a deal in principal with a Northern VA group led by
telecom exec William Collins. Plans were announced last week for
a season-ticket drive to gain 12,000 additional season-tickets
headed by the Greater Houston Partnership, but spokesperson Ray
Viator said no drive has begun yet (Thom Loverro, WASHINGTON
TIMES, 10/31). ATTENDANCE STUDY: Ten of the other 27 major
league teams in 1995 drew fewer fans than the Astros, according
to Terry Blount of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. For owners to judge
the "team's future based on 1995 attendance would seem unfair,"
writes Blount, who notes Astros players may have "hurt attendance
as much as anything when they blasted two former replacement
players," Craig McMurty and Dave Hajek. In the 16 home games
before McMurty was called up on August 12, the team averaged
23,800. In the 22 home games after players spoke out against the
presence of the replacements, attendance averaged 17,600 -- a
drop of more than 6,000 per game from the previous 16 games
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/31).
