MLB OK'S EXPOS, BUT WAS IT IN EXCHANGE FOR YANKEES VOTE?

          The Expos' future in Montreal "became significantly
     more secure" yesterday, as MLB team owners "voted
     unanimously to allow" N.Y. art dealer Jeffrey Loria to
     acquire controlling interest in the team, according to Daley
     & Myles of the Montreal GAZETTE.  Loria heads up an
     investment group "expected to purchase approximately" 35% of
     the team in a deal worth around US$75M.  When the deal
     closes, Loria "will become" the Expos' new General Partner
     in place of team President Claude Brochu.  Loria's partners
     include Stephen Bronfman, who is the son of former Expos
     Owner Charles Bronfman, and Loria is "rumoured to have three
     other investors on board."  Meanwhile, attorneys for Loria,
     Brochu and the team's current partnership "still must work
     out the details and timetable of the ownership exchange." 
     Under a deal reached in October, Brochu will receive C$15M
     for his 7.2% share of the team.  Loria's stepson David
     Samson "is expected to move to Montreal to represent the
     majority group's interests on a full-time basis" (Montreal
     GAZETTE, 12/1).  In Toronto, Jeff Blair writes that Loria's
     ownership group "could have as many as 20 partners once it's
     completed."  But a source said that Expos Chair Jacques
     Menard "still needs to raise" C$10-15M from local investors. 
     General Partner Mark Routtenberg, on the next moves for the
     team: "We need to make on-field moves to regain credibility
     with our fans.  We need to sell seat licenses for a new park
     and we need to sell season tickets" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/1). 
          SELIG'S SMOOTH MOVE? In Toronto, Richard Griffin writes
     that though the ownership transfer "lifts a shadow from the
     city's sportscape," it "does not automatically mean a new
     stadium is fait accompli or that the Montreal franchise is
     out of danger."  Griffin cautions for those "who believe the
     presence of [Stephen Bronfman] is an indication of his
     father's money being involved, think again.  This is not the
     Seagram family fortune; this an individual decision." 
     Griffin added that while some owners wanted to see the Expos
     relocate, including Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner, MLB
     Commissioner Bud Selig "had something Steinbrenner needed:
     The ability to influence" the YankeeNets deal. Selig "called
     for two votes" yesterday, first the Expos and then the
     YankeeNets.  Both votes were approved unanimously. Griffin:
     "It was a tradeoff, a bribe for The Boss" (TOR. STAR, 12/1).