The Royals "will formally announce today" an increase
of selected tickets at Kauffman Stadium for next season,
according to Steve Rock of the K.C. STAR. There will be $2
increases for all field box (to $17), plaza reserved (to
$15) and club box (to $19) tickets. Crown seats, behind
home plate, will increase from $100 to $120 each. Rental
costs for the outfield pavilion will increase from $300 to
$400 for "one side" and from $500 to $600 "for the whole
thing," while individual pavilion tickets will rise from $17
to $20. General-admission tickets, now priced at $7 for
adults and $3.50 for those aged 14 and under, "will remain
the same." In all, the increase "will affect just" 45% of
tickets at the ballpark (K.C. STAR, 9/26).
A'S: With the A's battling for a playoff spot, 14,248
attended last night's game against the Angels (THE DAILY).
SAMSON SPEAKS ON FUTURE: Expos Exec VP David Samson
said that "it will take more than a new stadium to ensure
the Expos' survival in Montreal." Samson added, "One
decision that we have made on behalf of our fans is that
[Managing Partner] Jeffrey [Loria] and I will not run a team
in Montreal that cannot be competitive. We simply won't do
it. There are some people, even some people in this
consortium, who would like to keep a team here just for the
sake of keeping a team here. But we won't" (Montreal
GAZETTE, 9/26). In Toronto, Jeff Blair writes that Expos
attendance at Olympic Stadium "actually increased" by 20%
this season, to 962,272, but that is "well off" Loria's
"desired" number of 1.6 million (GLOBE & MAIL, 9/26).
SOX IT TO 'EM: In N.Y., Murray Chass writes that White
Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf, the MLBPA's "Enemy No. 1" who
"would fight the players to the catastrophic end over
players salaries," has "produced a team that undermines
every argument the owners make about salaries and payroll
disparity." This season in MLB, "only four or five of the
top 14 teams in payroll will play games after next Sunday."
MLBPA Gen. Counsel Gene Orza, giving his take on the "dire
projections some owners have presented during labor" talks
over the years: "In 1985 it was Oakland going out of
business and they turned around and win three division
championships in a row. Then they picked Pittsburgh and
Pittsburgh won a few division championships. Then it was
San Diego, but San Diego was in the World Series. It's been
a string of bad luck for them" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/26).
FINAL COUNT: The Blue Jays drew 1,819,886 to the
SkyDome this season, their lowest figure since '82 when they
played at Exhibition Stadium (TORONTO SUN, 9/26). It is the
first time in the last six seasons that the Blue Jays have
"failed to top" two million (TORONTO STAR, 9/26).
VA BASEBALL INKS GOAL GROUP: The VA Baseball Authority
has retained Goal Group Consulting to conduct a market study
and analysis of the Orioles and examine how a Northern VA
MLB franchise would impact the MD franchise. The Goal Group
is partnering with CA-based Kagan Media Appraisals and N.Y.-
based Penn, Schoen Berland Associates (Goal Group).
