December 03, 2004
29 to 1
The owners approved the move of the Expos to Washington today.
Approval was "subject to all conditions set forth in the Baseball Stadium Agreement" signed on Sept. 29 by the Expos and Washington Mayor Anthony A. Williams. That agreement called for the District of Columbia government to enact by Dec. 31 funding for a new ballpark for the team, which would be renamed the Nationals.
The D.C. Council voted earlier this week to approve funding, put placed a $630 million cap on the project -- $195 million above the estimate contained in the September agreement. For the funding to become law, the Council must approve the measure again, and it must be signed by Williams, who favors the project.
What I find interesting is that this is one of the few votes in Selig's tenure which was not unanimous.
Owners approved the move during a telephone conference call. The vote was 29-1, with the Baltimore Orioles dissenting, a baseball official said on condition of anonymity.
I've never quite understood why Selig doesn't like public dissent. I wonder if all the compromising he must do to get total agreement doesn't hurt more than help. How many good ideas went by the boards because he could not four or five owners to say yes?