Astros Owner Drayton McLane said he has had several
conversations recently with Williams Collins, a telecom exec who
heads Virginia Baseball Inc., a group seeking to attract a team
to Northern Virginia, according to reports in DC and Houston this
morning. McLane would sell the team to Collins who would move it
to DC to begin play in RFK Stadium in '96. McLane, in this
morning's HOUSTON CHRONICLE: "It's extremely disappointing to
have to think about this, but we have lost $65 million in three
years with no end in sight. If we had just been able to break
even, this would not be an issue." Astros Senior VP/Business Ops
Bill McLaren described the conversations as "very preliminary."
In July, Mclane attempted to form an investor group to buy shares
in the team, but was unsuccessful. McLaren said, except for a
few, there was "almost no interest among Houston businessmen
about getting involved." McLaren also sought to dispel the
notion that the Astros' losses have been offset by the team's
gains as Astrodome landlord. McLaren: "The first two years, we
lost money on our lease. This year we made a $1 million profit,
but not anything that would come close to making up for the
losses with the team." McLaren expected to hear from Collins
again "in the next few days or weeks" (Terry Blount, HOUSTON
CHRONICLE, 10/19).
MIXED REACTION: Those familiar with Collins and his
partners said the Astros "could represent the best hope" for '96,
according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. But one MLB
owner said he didn't see the Astros as a candidate for
relocation. The owner: "It's almost November. I think maybe
it's time for them [Collins and partners] to start thinking about
1997." Collins has also talked with the Pirates, Expos, Mariners
and Twins (WASHINGTON POST, 10/19).
