Orlando Joins Bidding for Major League Franchise
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando joined an anxious, crowded lineup of hopeful cities today when a financial group headed by William du Pont III announced a formal bid for a major-league baseball franchise.
Du Pont, an heir to a family industrial-chemical fortune and principal owner of the new Orlando franchise of the National Basketball Assn., said the key to his proposal is a plan for $65-million baseball stadium, to be financed by a 1% increase in the resort tax.
“The time is ripe for Orlando to make its push,” Du Pont said.
Orlando joins about a dozen American and Canadian cities already seeking an expansion franchise, including Tampa, St. Petersburg and Miami in this state. Also making serious bids are Denver, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Buffalo, N.Y., Washington and Vancouver, Canada.
Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth has projected a six-team expansion, with the designation of two new teams possibly by 1990, to begin play no earlier than 1993.
Orlando-area government officials, politicians and tourist industry leaders are enthusiastic about the Du Pont proposal, including an increase in the resort tax, which is now at 3%.
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