EXPOS STICK WITH LABATT FOR BALLPARK NAMING RIGHTS DEAL

          The Expos and Labatt Breweries "confirmed" yesterday
     that a C$100M sponsorship deal negotiated two years ago
     "will go ahead as planned," according to Davenport & Myles
     of the Montreal GAZETTE.  Under the deal, Labatt will pay
     C$40M over the next 20 years for the naming rights to the
     team's proposed downtown ballpark and around C$60M to be the
     team's main sponsor.  Expos Exec VP David Samson: "What
     today is about is that the name of the stadium will be
     Labatt Stadium."  The announcement follows months of
     "speculation" that Expos Majority Owner Jeffrey Loria "was
     out for a more lucrative package" with Labatt.  Labatt
     President Louis Morin: "Essentially, what [Loria] asked for
     was some clarification of what was included in the contract
     and what was not included" (Montreal GAZETTE, 3/30).  Morin
     added that the naming rights deal allows the Expos to
     include other sponsors inside the ballpark in order to
     generate more revenue.  Labatt has been the team's main
     sponsor for the last 15 years (CANADIAN PRESS, 3/30).