ATLANTA -- An Atlanta businessman is leading a group of investors that are interested in purchasing the Montreal Expos and moving the team to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2004.

The future of the Expos, currently owned by Major League Baseball, is uncertain. There has been speculation that the team will be sold and moved within two years. A decision is expected as early as this winter.

Charles Vaughn, a 33-year-old tax and finance executive, said he has been working for 10 months to put together a group to buy the club. It would play in Hiram Bithorn Stadium, which is scheduled to be renovated.

Vaughn sent a letter to commissioner Bud Selig last week saying his group would apply to buy the Expos.

Baseball spokesman Rich Levin acknowledged receiving the letter and said it is being evaluated along with similar letters of interest in the Expos. Two groups from the Washington area also want to bring baseball back to the nation's capital.

Levin said it is too early to comment on the prospects of a team in Puerto Rico.

"At this point it would be very speculative,'' Levin said.

Vaughn said he also has talked with government officials in San Juan about the stadium, which would require a major renovation, include doubling its current seating capacity of 20,000.

Baseball's Opening Day 2001 took place in San Juan when the Toronto Blue Jays played the Texas Rangers at Hiram Bithorn. That game drew fans who paid up to $75 a ticket.