Following the Stadium Board's rejection of a financial plan
for a new Brewers stadium, Rockies Owner Jerry McMorris said he
"wouldn't be surprised" if MLB's Executive Council calls an
emergency meeting to discuss a possible move of the Brewers to a
new city. The MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL's Tom Haudricourt
reports that McMorris, one of four NL owners on the council,
indicated that unless the "project can be saved somehow in the
coming days," the team will have "no choice" but to move.
McMorris: "All of the rest of us on the Executive Council say
enough is enough. With the new revenue-sharing plan, teams are
going to be much more critical of other teams' economic problems.
There's no sense putting money down a black hole." Brewers
President Bud Selig, as acting MLB Commissioner and Chair of the
Executive Council, would have to call any such meeting of the
panel, but he said he would put off making a decision until WI
Gov. Tommy Thompson returns from a trade mission in Australia.
Saying "There will be no club in Milwaukee without a new
ballpark," AL President Gene Budig concluded that the '99 All-
Star Game will not be played in Milwaukee as originally planned.
Budig: "Our owners are convinced that the Brewers' days are
numbered without the basic tools for success." A team must
receive permission from the commissioner and the Executive
Council before moving to a new city (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL,
6/16).
ROCK THE VOTE: By an 8-5 margin, the Board rejected a plan
that would have made the Brewers' $50M loan the Board's
responsibility, according to Kenneth Lamke of the MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL. While the plan's chief architect, board member
Ulice Payne, held out little hope of keeping the Brewers,
Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist was more optimistic, indicating
that a meeting between Thompson and Selig could result in a less
expensive stadium plan or that Selig could consider taking on new
partners to raise cash (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/16). The
JOURNAL SENTINEL's Amy Rinard notes that many blamed the plan's
failure on Norquist, whose representative on the stadium board
voted against the plan. Assembly Majority Leader Scott Jensen:
"Mayor Norquist was never a leader on the issue and was
frequently an inhibitor of progress" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL,
6/16).
SELIG SEETHING: "With lips trembling, an emotional and
angry Selig" spoke at a press conference at County Stadium an
hour before the Brewers played the A's on Friday night. Denying
that he has received offers from other cities, Selig said, "If
there is anybody left in the state of Wisconsin tonight who
doesn't believe that this was political and had nothing to do
with economics, then you haven't followed the story" (MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/15).
