The six-member Washington Baseball Club has begun
"lobbying" MLB owners and Commissioner Bud Selig in an
effort to convince them that a Washington, DC, team would
"not have a significant, detrimental financial impact" on
the Orioles, according to Bill Brubaker of the WASHINGTON
POST. The group is led by former MLB Rangers co-Owner Fred
Malek and includes AOL Founding CEO & Chair Emeritus Jim
Kimsey and Fannie Mae Chair & CEO Franklin Raines. Arnold &
Porter's Steve Porter, a member of the group, said they have
written letters and begun calling all team owners save for
the Orioles' Peter Angelos. Porter disputes Angelos'
assertion that 25% of his club's tickets are sold to DC-area
fans. Porter: "Mr. Angelos's estimates of how much he
depends upon the Washington market for his (ticket) sales
are terribly inflated." He estimated that Angelos "could
possibly lose between" $4-6M a year in gross ticket revenues
if there was a DC franchise. Porter said, "That's almost
inconsequential to the operation of the club," while adding
that Angelos would "just have to run his club a little more
efficiently." The group hired architect David Schwarz to
recommend how RFK Stadium -- where the team would play its
first few seasons before moving into a downtown ballpark --
could be renovated for MLB (WASHINGTON POST, 7/29).
