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The Montreal Expos would be renamed the Washington Nationals if the proposed move of the franchise is approved by baseball owners.
The team's new colors would be red, white and blue, club president Tony Tavares said Monday during a news conference at Union Station to announce the name change. Caps will have a script "W" and the team's secondary logo will feature an interlocking "DC."
"This is a thrilling and important step in returning the national pastime to the nation's capital," Tavares said. "The team name and colors not only represent our new home, but symbolize the joining together of Washington's baseball past and its future."
Just before the news conference began, a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party went on the stage with a sign reading "Stop the $614 million stadium giveaway." The protester, Adam Eidinger, opposes the plan by District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams' to finance a ballpark for the team, saying it will cost far more than the estimated $435 million.
Several men, including former Washington Senators announcer Charlie Brotman, jumped Eidinger. A tussle ensued, and the podium nearly fell over before security managed to drag the protester off stage. Eidinger said detained briefly and then released.
"I'm breathing hard," Brotman, 73, announced to the crowd. "This has nothing with a heavyweight championship fight coming to town."
The move of the team is subject to the approval of baseball owners, which is expected, and the District of Columbia Council must act by Dec. 31 to put a financing plan in place for a new ballpark. Baseball owners and the council have both delayed their votes, but the Council is expected to vote by Nov. 30 and owners by Dec. 6.
The Expos are owned by the other 29 teams, who plan to sell the franchise in 2005. The new owners may choose to rename the team again.
The Nationals was the official original name of the Senators franchise that played in Washington from 1901-60, although the team was known by both names for several decades. Owner Calvin Griffith officially changed the name to Senators in 1957.
Commissioner Bud Selig preferred the name Senators for Washington's new team, but the mayor objected because the District of Columbia does not have representation in the U.S. Senate. Williams preferred the Grays, a tribute to the Homestead Grays Negro League team that played in Washington in the 1930s and 1940s.
"The Mayor on the Grays. Bud was on Senators," Tavares said. "And I think you see a compromise candidate. But I don't want to sell it as that. I think it's a great name."
The team unveiled a red, white and blue logo with the word "Washington" on a red ribbon and "Nationals" on a blue field, then immediately began selling caps, T-shirts and pennants at a nearby kiosk. The uniform will be unveiled later.
Source: AP
The team's new colors would be red, white and blue, club president Tony Tavares said Monday during a news conference at Union Station to announce the name change. Caps will have a script "W" and the team's secondary logo will feature an interlocking "DC."
"This is a thrilling and important step in returning the national pastime to the nation's capital," Tavares said. "The team name and colors not only represent our new home, but symbolize the joining together of Washington's baseball past and its future."
Just before the news conference began, a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party went on the stage with a sign reading "Stop the $614 million stadium giveaway." The protester, Adam Eidinger, opposes the plan by District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams' to finance a ballpark for the team, saying it will cost far more than the estimated $435 million.
Several men, including former Washington Senators announcer Charlie Brotman, jumped Eidinger. A tussle ensued, and the podium nearly fell over before security managed to drag the protester off stage. Eidinger said detained briefly and then released.
"I'm breathing hard," Brotman, 73, announced to the crowd. "This has nothing with a heavyweight championship fight coming to town."
The move of the team is subject to the approval of baseball owners, which is expected, and the District of Columbia Council must act by Dec. 31 to put a financing plan in place for a new ballpark. Baseball owners and the council have both delayed their votes, but the Council is expected to vote by Nov. 30 and owners by Dec. 6.
The Expos are owned by the other 29 teams, who plan to sell the franchise in 2005. The new owners may choose to rename the team again.
The Nationals was the official original name of the Senators franchise that played in Washington from 1901-60, although the team was known by both names for several decades. Owner Calvin Griffith officially changed the name to Senators in 1957.
Commissioner Bud Selig preferred the name Senators for Washington's new team, but the mayor objected because the District of Columbia does not have representation in the U.S. Senate. Williams preferred the Grays, a tribute to the Homestead Grays Negro League team that played in Washington in the 1930s and 1940s.
"The Mayor on the Grays. Bud was on Senators," Tavares said. "And I think you see a compromise candidate. But I don't want to sell it as that. I think it's a great name."
The team unveiled a red, white and blue logo with the word "Washington" on a red ribbon and "Nationals" on a blue field, then immediately began selling caps, T-shirts and pennants at a nearby kiosk. The uniform will be unveiled later.
Source: AP