Could Expos return to Montreal?

[flar]

I never hear anyone talk about MLB in Ontario either, except for the guys on my ball team, 1/3 of whom live in Quebec. I think it mostly has to do with the social circles I'm exposed to (highly educated, don't talk sports much).

[SJTOKO]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I don't know if baseball is dead in Canada overall but in Quebec (where I live) and Montreal (which is two hours away), I almost never hear people talking Major League Baseball.

At barbecues, over the water cooler, on public transit, etc. Never.

I am in the prime MLB demographic and none of my friends follow baseball. They follow hockey, soccer, Formula 1, NFL/CFL, tennis, Tour de France, etc., but not MLB.

I hate to embarrass you but....... ahem...

Quebec City Eh?



Les Capitales are one of the most successful PROFESSIONAL teams in Canada, and they play in one of the most storied and beautiful ballparks in the country. I've been to a few games with my father, and the atmosphere was great.

[davidivivid]

Great shot of the Stadium!!!! I attended a Capital's game recently and as usual, the crowd was loud and cheerful!! It is a cute little stadium set in a beautiful and historical environment: the Victoria park.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I don't think it will work for the simple reason BASEBALL IS DEAD IN CANADA! Look at the jays they can only draw fans when the yankees or red sox come to town other than that no one shows. Look at minor league ball in Canada and in the past 15 years how many AAA clubs have left Canada ie:Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver. Then the expos themselves for their last 10 years had horrific attendance. People will point out the 94 strike but in 1996 the expos had a chance at the wildcard spot with a week to go and no one showed up their fans just were not that good. Montreal is habs town through and through and then a little bit for the alouettes but baseball is dead in Canada.No young people are watching or playing baseball in Canada anymore.

Such an ill-informed post. You're from Winnipeg so you should know that the Goldeyes are one of the most successful minor leaugue teams in Canada with a beautiful downtown stadium. Secondly, I don't think the level of attendance at AAA baseball correlates with the level of interest in baseball as a whole. When the Cannons were here I would attend the occasional game, but I would watch top quality product (MLB) regularily. I don't beleive your third point is correct either. Perhaps it's an east/west thing, seeing as I split my time between Calgary and Van, but baseball is easily the third most popular spectator sport among my group of friends. Anecdotal evidence I know, but I am in my early 20s which is a prime demographic.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SJTOKO

I hate to embarrass you but....... ahem...

Quebec City Eh?

[/IMG]

Les Capitales are one of the most successful PROFESSIONAL teams in Canada, and they play in one of the most storied and beautiful ballparks in the country. I've been to a few games with my father, and the atmosphere was great.

I don't live in the Quebec City area but I am aware of the success of Les Capitales... but this is a localized micro-phenomenon limited to Quebec City and suburbs. Pro baseball is still off the radar in the rest of the province, including, most importantly, Montreal.

Perhaps the Quebec City phenom of Les Capitales will spread to the rest of the province (as it did with the college football success of the Laval Rouge et Or, that sparked programs in Montreal and Sherbrooke), or maybe it will remain a strictly Quebec City thing like, er... Jeff Fillion's "radio-poubelle"...

And BTW - I am not embarrassed in the slightest!

[artvandelay]

A more pessimistic viewpoint:

It’s not nice to tease Expo fans
By Wayne Scanlan, Postmedia NewsJuly 8, 2011

Now that the Jets have returned to their rightful home in Winnipeg, it’s tempting to believe the sports universe is unfolding as it should.

With Winnipeg back in the NHL and visions of Teemu Selanne’s 76-goal rookie season dancing in our heads, who doesn’t daydream about the Battle of Quebec rejoined, as the Nordiques are reborn in a new Colisee, and some reincarnation of the Stastny line wreaks havoc with the storied Montreal Canadiens?

The righteous realignment doesn’t stop there, of course. The wheels are already turning on the Ottawa Rough Riders’ return to the CFL (one of these years), in a rebuilt Lansdowne Park. As bad as the Riders were in the mid-1990s, and as regrettable as was the short-lived Renegades era, the CFL is a better place with a team in the nation’s capital. At their worst, with the south side stands wasting away from neglect, the canal-side Ottawa location was one of the prettiest in the league.

Why, even the poor old Carleton Ravens are getting their Canadian Interuniversity Sport football team back, likely by 2013.

All of these nostalgic relaunches have sports fans of the 1980s and ’90s thinking big, but still too sensitive, too wary to put a name to our true thoughts, knowing it’s way too soon to dream the impossible dream. That is, until Friday morning, when the helpful folks at the Conference Board of Canada did it for us.

“Montreal has the market to support Major League Baseball,” notes the conference board in its latest sports business missive.

NOOOOooooooooo!!!

Please don’t go there.

Read More ...............

[artvandelay]

Anyonce care to speculate on potential ownership? I'm not too familliar with Quebec media, but I've heard Peladeau's name mentioned due to the new Quebecor sports channel that is launching. Without the rights to Habs games, they will be looking for content for the network. This group will certainly need to be well capitalized to set up an MLB team.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

Anyonce care to speculate on potential ownership? I'm not too familliar with Quebec media, but I've heard Peladeau's name mentioned due to the new Quebecor sports channel that is launching. Without the right's to Habs games, they will be looking for content for the network. This group will certainly need to be well capitalized to set up an MLB team.

Not sure if everyone is aware but Péladeau will be the team owner if the NHL ever returns to Quebec City. He is counting on the reborn Nordiques to power his new sports network.

Not sure if Péladeau has deep enough pockets for both an NHL and an MLB team, and if the two leagues would allow it.

[SHOFEAR]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Not sure if everyone is aware but Péladeau will be the team owner if the NHL ever returns to Quebec City. He is counting on the reborn Nordiques to power his new sports network.

Not sure if Péladeau has deep enough pockets for both an NHL and an MLB team, and if the two leagues would allow it.

and yet his media empire is the biggest opponent of any sort of sort of public money going to the oilers new barn....Just cause his names envloved I hope it fails.

[kw5150]

The expos left montreal?

[MolsonExport]

Could? Yes.
Imminent? No way.

[stamps]

As has been mentioned a downtown stadium would make this team viable... I remember when Serge Savard was trying to put a group together to build one downtown, when that fell through it was the beginning of the end.... I pretty much lost interest in baseball after that, the team was a lame duck franchise.... that team was so close soo many times, I loved that team... if someone would build that downtown stadium where you could attract the business crowd to afternoon games that team would be a success imo....

[thurmas]

Look I have followed the expos for a long time as a kid and was a huge spos fan but to say I am misinformed is wrong. The jays never drew close to 30,000 in 2008 it was 22,000 here is the link :http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
The Expos highest attendance for their glory years in the early 80's was 28,000 a game ok but nothing special. Montreal just isn't a great baseball town watching the french sports telecasts on RDS there is little to no mention of baseball interest in Quebec.As to the Winnipeg Goldeyes,yes the Goldeyes are a good draw but it has more to do with our nice little ballpark downtown than any real interest in the sport. The eyes used to sellout at 7,000 a game now it's around 5,200 a game.No one talks about Baseball in the peg only Jets, Bombers, some golf and NFL.

[SJTOKO]

[QUOTE=thurmas;5363823]Look I have followed the expos for a long time as a kid and was a huge spos fan but to say I am misinformed is wrong. The jays never drew close to 30,000 in 2008 it was 22,000 here is the link :http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
QUOTE]

Just checked your link... and.....
29,626 for 2008 just behind Chicago...

[DrJoe]

Considering the Jays haven't made the playoffs, hell haven't even been in a real playoff race since 1993 I think they actually draw decently well.

If any of the top teams in the league went on a playoff drought like the Jays have I guarantee none of them would average over 30,000. That includes the likes of the Red Sox and Yankees.

[Urban_Genius]

First I'm not a huge baseball fan, but to me the Montreal Expos were by far the coolest baseball team ever. They're the MLB equivalent of the Hartford Whalers with such a cool logo, team name. It was a shame to see all the crap that happened to the expos since 1994 and ultimately leading to their demise in 2004.

Having said all that, what makes anybody think anything will be different? No downtown stadium, still a joke of a system in terms of not having any sort of hard cap, there's also still a prevailing attitude toward MLB in Montreal that I think most people simply quit following the sport and are still very upset with MLB. I just don't see what has changed in 7 years to indicate that a baseball team in Montreal would be a success after the debacle that occurred.

Bud Selig, Jeff Loria, the consortium and the Big OWE can all be credited with the expos death, but at some point people in Montreal decided to let them go too, by no longer supporting them.

[Highinthesky]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Look I have followed the expos for a long time as a kid and was a huge spos fan but to say I am misinformed is wrong. The jays never drew close to 30,000 in 2008 it was 22,000 here is the link :http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
The Expos highest attendance for their glory years in the early 80's was 28,000 a game ok but nothing special. Montreal just isn't a great baseball town watching the french sports telecasts on RDS there is little to no mention of baseball interest in Quebec.As to the Winnipeg Goldeyes,yes the Goldeyes are a good draw but it has more to do with our nice little ballpark downtown than any real interest in the sport. The eyes used to sellout at 7,000 a game now it's around 5,200 a game.No one talks about Baseball in the peg only Jets, Bombers, some golf and NFL.

Hey buddy your link goes to 2011 attendance numbers. Click on it then change the year to 2008 and take a look at the number and you will find 29,626. Please don't make me come back and hold your hand.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance/_/year/2008

[BretttheRiderFan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I don't know if baseball is dead in Canada overall but in Quebec (where I live) and Montreal (which is two hours away), I almost never hear people talking Major League Baseball.

At barbecues, over the water cooler, on public transit, etc. Never.

I am in the prime MLB demographic and none of my friends follow baseball. They follow hockey, soccer, Formula 1, NFL/CFL, tennis, Tour de France, etc., but not MLB.

Your friends follow Tour de France? (giggles to self)

I don't know about Montreal but baseball is a solid 3rd place in Canada based on ratings and such after hockey and football. The Jays are much more popular nationwide than the Raptors, though my generation (I'm 16) probably follows basketball more than baseball, though hockey and football are also king for us teens from my experience

[habfanman]

Originally Posted by stamps

As has been mentioned a downtown stadium would make this team viable... I remember when Serge Savard was trying to put a group together to build one downtown, when that fell through it was the beginning of the end.... I pretty much lost interest in baseball after that, the team was a lame duck franchise.... that team was so close soo many times, I loved that team... if someone would build that downtown stadium where you could attract the business crowd to afternoon games that team would be a success imo....

You've summed it up well. I was a huge fan (of baseball in general and the Expos in particular) until the lockout. After following the team for 25+ years and seeing them finally hit the top.. on to the World Serious against the Yanks!!!!.. only to watch the dream fizzle over a dispute between the millionaires and the billionaires... it was too much. To have to wait another 25 years (if ever) for the team to reach that point.. most people in Montréal couldn't do it and felt cheated. I don't blame them for deserting the team.

MLB would have to come up with a revenue sharing plan that would give all teams a reasonable shot at winning it all. They would have to institute a video replay that would eliminate the controversy over missed calls. Montréal would have to build a baseball-specific stadium, downtown (35, 40 thousand in Griffintown) with good transit access, and they'd have to be called the EXPOS again!

I'm a baseball fan but I'm not an MLB fan. Unless they clean up their act, I won't be interested in another Montréal team.

[MolsonExport]

I'd almost rather see Jeff Loria (and his stepson David Samson) publicly tortured, drawn and quartered, than have MLB return to my hometown. Those assholes destroyed my love for the game