Washington attorney Bart Fisher, who is leading a group that has attempted to buy several teams, including the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos and Oakland Athletics, said he would ask for a questionnaire. "We'll participate in whatever beauty contest they choose to set up," he said.

Fisher said he would continue to pursue an established team even as he goes through the expansion process. Fisher's ultimate goal is to put a team in Northern Virginia, perhaps Loudoun County, to tap a market without easy access to Baltimore Orioles games.

"I think our chances depend on several factors," Fisher said. "One is the attitude of Baltimore toward the whole thing. That's very important that the other owners not feel they'd be injuring Baltimore by giving us a team. I think if there's a large response from interested cities, they'll consider adding four teams. That would give baseball four eight-team divisions, so you'd keep the purity of a pennant race and still have an extra round of playoffs."