Astros Owner Drayton McLane announced Friday the Astros will
stay in Houston next season, according to the HOUSTON CHRONICLE.
McLane added if attendance doesn't rise by 40% next season to at
least 2.5 million, the Astros will likely be sold to an out-of-
town interest which would move the team. John Williams reports,
if attendance rises as McLane hopes, his other criteria for
staying will also likely be met: a new retractable-roof
ballpark, and local investors buying at least 30%. The Greater
Houston Partnership, a coalition of local business interests,
will begin a drive to double season ticket sales (HOUSTON
CHRONICLE, 11/11).
WILL IT HAPPEN? Terry Blount writes McLane's attendance
wishes translate into an average of 30,864 per game for a team
that averaged 19,223 in '95. He notes this rise would not be
impossible, but would involve a turnaround of "historic
proportions" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/12). FROM DC: Virginia
Baseball's William Collins said he is still optimistic he will
have the Astros, or another MLB team, playing in DC in '97,
according to the WASHINGTON POST. In delivering his "concession"
speech, Collins said he and McLane had the basics of a deal in
place, but McLane ran into "difficulties" complying with MLB's
relocation guidelines (Maske & Lipton, WASHINGTON POST, 11/11).
