More than 10 groups interested in Expos

ST. LOUIS — So far, more than 10 parties have contacted Major League Baseball about the opportunity to purchase the Washington baseball franchise, MLB President and Chief Operating Officer Bob DuPuy said last night.

That number is nearly twice the number of bidders already identified for the relocated team.

“We have had more than 10 and fewer than two dozen expressions of interest so far,” DuPuy said before Game 3 of the World Series. “The next step in that process is to do a preliminary review of them, contact them … invite them in to do due diligence — that will occur in New York over the course of the next 30 days — and then solicit bids from the people who remain interested.”

Once in New York, prospective bidders will be allowed to view the Expos financial records to help formulate their offers.

Last week MLB executives said they would accept applications to bid on the franchise until Monday. MLB intends to name the new franchise owner by the end of the year.

So far, the parties known to be interested in the Expos are: the Washington Baseball Club, led by Fred Malek; New York real estate developer Mark Broxmeyer, and DSG Baseball out of Nashville, Tenn., led by Brian Saulsberry, a Howard University graduate and general partner of the DSG Investment Fund. Bill Collins, chairman of the Virginia Baseball Club, which sought to have the franchise located in Northern Virginia, said his group may join the bidding. Reports also have Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson putting together a group for a bid and former Atlanta Braves president Stan Kasten’s name also has surfaced.

The Expos are owned by the existing 29 major league owners who purchased them three years ago for $120 million. MLB hopes to sell the team, which according to Forbes magazine was worth an estimated $108 million in Montreal, for close to $400 million now that it’s in Washington.

DuPuy also said he believes District officials will be successful getting legislation approved for the proposed $430 million ballpark on the Anacostia waterfront. The legislation will face a public city council hearing tomorrow.

“We are very confident that the District will get this done, the legislation will pass, the rehab will occur to RFK and we will open the season in Washington next year and return baseball to the nation’s capital. We are very excited about that,” DuPuy said.

DuPuy said there has been no “friction” between he and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos and that compensation talks with Angelos will continue after the postseason.

“The negotiations remain cordial,” DuPuy said. “We continue the discussions, and frankly the postseason has caused difficulty in getting together and talking. There has really been no change other than our schedules have been very difficult.

“There is no issue of [Angelos] holding out, absolutely not,” DuPuy said. “We had discussions and agreements on most of the philosophical points and disagreement on a few of the points, We continue to discuss it like rational human beings. Peter is a gentleman.”