In 1975, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles stated that he was in negotiations to sell his team to a Toronto group. The following January, San Francisco Giants owner Horace Stoneham agreed to sell the team for $13.25 million to a group headed by Labatt intending to relocate it to Toronto. The team would have begun play in the 1976 season at Exhibition Stadium, and be called the Toronto Giants. However the plan to move the Giants was quashed by a U.S. court. The MLGL group also bid on the Giants, with Ballard stating that they had offered $15 million for the team, after having previously negotiated with the owners of the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics in their attempt to acquire a team for Toronto.