MLB "is balking at Houston's attempt to extract a
promise the Astros will play at least 30 years in the
ballpark being built downtown," according to John Williams
of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Astros Owner Drayton McLane Jr.
has made a written promise to sign a "strict performance
lease" that would prevent the team from playing home games
anywhere else for 30 years. But the Harris County-Houston
Sports Authority "wants stronger assurances should baseball
face worsened economic problems." In a "doomsday scenario,
McLane or a future owner might place the Astros in
bankruptcy, voiding such a lease and freeing the next owner
to move the team." Authority officials have been
negotiating with Acting MLB Commissioner Bud Selig for a
pledge that MLB "will not allow the Astros to leave Houston
until their 30-year lease expires." Though MLB "has the
antitrust power to make such a promise," two sources said
that Selig "has been unwilling to put anything in writing."
Williams writes that Authority officials "don't have much
negotiating power" because they have started construction on
the $249.5M ballpark and need a final lease to secure their
tenant. Gene Locke, the Authority's legal counsel, said
yesterday that until the authority completes its discussions
with Selig, it cannot complete its lease negotiations with
the Astros (John Williams, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/1).
