Montreal wants team as baseball ponders growth
Until Expos’ end, city’s fans insist they supported team.
and run it into the ground to move it to Washington,” said Richard Griffin, the Toronto Star’s baseball columnist.
Until the end — when the Expos were playing in wornout Olympic Stadium, when MLB leaders were openly Major League Baseball is shopping the team to other bound for expansion one of cities, when the team agreed these days. Commissioner to move a quarter of its home Rob Manfred has ki c ked games to Puerto Rico — Monaround the idea of a 32-team trealers insist the city supleague for a while, and he ported the team. brought up the notion again When the club was good, during last month’s all-star contending for the pennant festivities. as a labor strike loomed from
One of the potential loca1992 through 1994, an avertions he named during an age of 21,000 fans showed up interview with Fox Sports 1 for each home game. When was Montreal, ironic considit was bad, the bottom fell ering Manfred’s predecessor, out at the box office. In the Bud Selig, spent years tryfinal seven years in Montreal, ing to move that franchise fewer than 12,000 fans went practically anywhere else. to each home game on averThe Expos played 22 games age. The final season, the in Puerto Rico in 2003 and Expos only averaged 9,000 2004, and after baseball’s fans. That convinced MLB 29 other franchises pitched that the city wasn’t good for in to purchase the team, the baseball any longer. And that island — along with Northengendered a fair amount ern Virginia, Washington of bitterness among Monand Portland, Ore. — made trealers. offers to MLB. “When they were playing
Of course, Washington games in Puerto Rico, it was won, and 13 years later the almost like they were telling Nationals are squarely at fans, ‘Goodbye. We’re done. home, having showed off You’re not good enough,’ ” their 10-year-old ballpark said Griffin, who previously and star players over the worked in the Expos’ front all-star break. The Nationoffice. als selectively honor parts “When things are good of the franchise’s history, here, they’re really good,” but Montrealers generally Ross said. “It just seemed have moved on to root for like there was always someother teams. thing that would happen for
But the city hasn’t moved the Expos not to take off or on from baseball and would do well.” eagerly welcome Manfred That is what tamps expeca n d a n e x p a n s i o n t e a m t at i ons a mong re s i dents despite MLB’s checkered despite Manfred’s repeated past north of the border. mentions of Montreal: The
“It was a blank slate, clean MLB has dissed Montreal page, whatever the expresbefore. The Tampa Bay Rays sion is,” says Matthew Ross, and Oakland Athletics both president of the ExposNation need new st adiums, and Committee, a nonprofit that Expos boosters fear that MLB promotes Montreal as a site officials will threaten municfor a future expansion team, ipalities with franchise reloand a radio host on one of cation to Montreal if governthe city’s sports talk chanments don’t pony up money nels. “We heard that Rob for new ballparks. MontrealManfred was very worldly ers know that’s largely an when he looked at baseball. empty threat, Griffin said, He cared about doing things bec ause Canadian politi - outside the United States.” cians are loath to use pub
Montreal is a three-sport lic money on private athcit y with the NHL’s Canaletic facilities, unlike their diens, MLS’ Impact and the U.S. counterparts. Canadian Football League’s B e s i d e s , t h e Rays j u s t Alouettes. It’s also one of the released renderings of their world’s pre-eminent boxproposed new stadium, and ing destinations. But basethe Oakland Cit y Council ball is woven into its history. voted to negotiate with the Jackie Robinson played for A’s on two proposed stadium the minor league Royals, a sites. Both teams are likely team with consistently high to get new ballparks withattendance numbers, before out enduring the threat of breaking the major league relocation. color barrier in 1947. Mon“I t ’s a n i nt e l l i ge nt f a n treal hosted the first All-Star base,” Ross said. “They know Game held outside the United nothing can happen until States in 1982. Tampa Bay and Oakland are
Since the Expos moved in sorted. There’s a hurry-up2005, the Toronto Blue Jays and-wait mentality.” regularly play a pair of weekThat leaves Montreal only end preseason games in Monone option to get a team — treal that between them draw expansion — but there is close to 100,000 fans. This competition: Manfred also year, those games were on listed Nashville, Tenn., and weeknights — and still drew Charlotte, N.C., as targets, a combined 50,000 fans. along with Portland, L as
“Major League Baseball Vegas, Vancouver and even had to buy the franchi se Mexico.