Legislative decisions key to bid for baseball.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

PORTLAND - A countdown toward the potential arrival of Major League Baseball continued here Tuesday morning with the launch of an advertising campaign in support of the Oregon Stadium Campaign's attempt to bring the Montreal Expos to town.

"We've got about 100 days, about 100 key days in front of us to pull this off, " Oregon Sports Authority CEO Drew Mahalic said at a press conference at the downtown Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. "That is the timing for Major League Baseball, when they want to identify a chosen city. We have a lot of work to be done, but really, you have to be optimistic for our chances."

Mahalic and David Kahn, the leader of the Oregon Stadium Campaign, met with Major League Baseball's relocation committee last Thursday in Phoenix. Bob Dupuy, the president and CEO of Major League Baseball, and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf were among those representing baseball in the meeting.

Kahn said an equal amount of time was spent discussing site selection of a potential new stadium, revenue projections and a financial plan.

"The meeting went well," Kahn said. "I got positive feedback from people who were in the room. I thought the Portland delegation acquitted itself well, as I knew it would. I think we are in the midst of a spirited process that I do believe will culminate in Portland getting a Major League Baseball team here this summer."

Washington, D.C., officials also met with the committee Thursday, and Northern Virginia made its pitch Friday. Those three areas are vying to land the Expos, which Major League Baseball owns and hopes to relocate as early as next season.

"I keep remarking upon this because it is almost hard for me to believe, but in 10 and a half months, we could have a team here in Portland, which seems hard to fathom when you think of that short time span, but that is how close we are," Kahn said.

The next big issue on the table is a $150 million bill which will be introduced to the legislature this week to fund a new stadium. A new stadium is essential to Portland's hopes of landing a team.

"It earmarks state income tax of players so that no money is taken from schools or social services, that is the key," Mahalic said. "If legislators support it as we hope they will, that will really launch us into first place among the candidates."

Kahn said he was unsure what the relocation committee will do next.

The group is expected to select its relocation winner in July.

The stadium campaign has begun an advertising campaign to bring baseball to Portland using print, television and radio advertisements.

A full-page advertisement in The Oregonian last week listed 350 businesses and organizations supporting the stadium campaign. Five days after it ran, an additional 55 to 60 businesses and organizations added their names to the list.

A television advertisement featuring a vendor selling peanuts in downtown Portland will begin running soon, along with a radio advertisement.

"All in all, I think we have done a marvelous job to create a considerable amount of momentum this month," Kahn said. "Through this (print) ad, which shows I think for the first time that the business community is excited and supportive of this effort. Through our presentation in front of Major League Baseball, through the bill that is about to become a matter of fact in Salem.

"I think that is a lot of positive momentum, more than I think we've ever really felt and I think that bodes well for the next several months ahead. I do think we have positioned ourselves in good shape and we still have a tremendous amount of hard work left."

And so the countdown continues.

"Before we started this process, there was always some question as to whether or not we were a real contender," Mahalic said. "Just from our last meeting, from the body language and response of Major League Baseball, there is no doubt we are really a player in this and being taken seriously to the point where you can tell they are acknowledging we have a real good chance to pull this off."