The Montreal Expos who had to play half their games in Puerto Rico's Estadio Hirem Bithorn and the other half at the not so pretty "Stade Olympic" to try and combine enough fanbase to get through a season, seemed like a good fit
for Buffalo. Virginia's Tidewater region and the area where Pfitzner Stadium was in Potomac were also clamoring for the Expos but neither seemed like it would
be the perfect fit. Where they really wanted to go was Washington D.C. if they
had a #1 choice, as the Washington Senators' old RFK Stadium was still standing and in very good condition. The problem however was that D.C.
was within the Baltimore Orioles' 45 mile territorial range and the Orioles immediately vetoed any move of Montreal
anywhere near D.C. With that the Montreal Expos set their sights on Buffalo's new "Pilot Field" as this ballpark was originally
called. In the end... Baltimore made a deal with the Montreal Expos to allow them to move into their very protected territory of Washington D.C. in
exchange for the new "Washington Nationals" TV broadcasting rights. Buffalo had struck out, but as we stated... two Major League
franchises were interested in moving to this ballpark so Buffalo would try
again. |