Exactly 33 years after the Washington Senators played their final game, the nation’s capital might learn on Thursday that major league baseball plans to return next season.

Several baseball officials said yesterday that the most likely day for an announcement that Washington, D.C., has been selected for the future home of the team is Thursday, although there was a slight chance the timetable could be moved up.

After a meeting of the sport’s executive council last Thursday, a high-ranking baseball official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said major league baseball would attempt to finalize negotiations with Washington within a week. It would be the first franchise relocation in the major leagues since the expansion Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.

The deal to move the Expos to Washington would be subject to government approval of funding for both a $13 million refurbishment of RFK Stadium and a new ballpark costing slightly over $400 million, which would be built in the southeast section of the city.

A move also must be approved by three-quarters of MLB owners and survive legal challenges by the Expos’ former limited partners and possibly by Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who objects having a team 40 miles from his.

After an announcement, the process of selling the Expos will start. A group that includes former Rangers partner Fred Malek has been seeking a Washington franchise for five years. In addition, several baseball officials have said that Stan Kasten, former president of the Braves, Hawks and Thrashers, might be trying to assemble a group.