If this is going to happen there are a number of obstacles to get over and hoops to jump through. First of all, Montreal would likely need to build a brand new baseball stadium. This involves finding a space to put one, planning out how the stadium will look, and most importantly money. Since 2000 the cheapest stadium to be built cost $216M (PNC) and the most expensive cost $1.6B (New Yankee Stadium). Montreal probably wouldn't get a stadium for the price that Pittsburgh did anymore, but they wouldn't have to spend money like New York either. They would probably need around $500M-$800M. That would be a lot of money for a city to spend and there would be a large discussion about who pays for it. How much would the city chip in? The provincial government? The federal government? How much would the owner(s) have to pay? This also raises another issue. Are there owners willing to buy the team? And is the team even for sale?To answer the second question first, the team does not appear to be for sale at this time. This puts a damper on Rays to Montreal rumours for now, but this post is more about the future. If the Rays continue to consistently have poor attendance, then one day a few years from now they very well could be for sale. Even now, despite not being for sale, owners and other baseball people know that Montreal is there wanting a team, and right now, Tampa is really the only market that would make sense to move. If the team ever did go for sale, I think that enough people want baseball in Montreal that some rich Canadian (who knows? Maybe even possibly an American) would be willing to buy the team, and pending league approval move them to Montreal. The key words there might be "pending league approval."
When asked about the crowds Montreal drew to watch the Blue Jays play the Mets (more on that later) Bud Selig said the following "It did make a big impression. I was very impressed...I think (the exhibitions) were marvelous...I wish them well. And I think they would be an excellent candidate in the future, no question about it" (quote taken from the Toronto Sun). Bud Selig did also acknowledge that there would be difficulties. That obstacle is out of the way, as the MLB looks to be open to possible relocation to Montreal.
Another thing to keep in mind is the appetite for baseball in Montreal is alive and well. The Blue Jays played two exhibition games in Olympic stadium and drew over 90,000 people between the two games. People there would definitely support the team, not only in Montreal but Canada wide. Montreal is ready and waiting for a team.
Bottom Line: When will Montreal have a baseball team? It's hard to say if they ever will at this point. However, personally I do believe it will happen. It will likely take 2-3 more years of bad attendance from the Rays. It's hard to say if and when a stadium would be built, if they had to the team could likely play in Olympic Park for one season. We'll say a year of waiting for the park, even though that is hard to predict, there likely would be a little bit of a wait for the stadium to be built. Acquisition of the team might take a year or two, and maybe another year or two to make the move final. This puts us at roughly a five to eight year waiting period. I'd also add on one to three years for unknowns or things I might not have thought of. Now we're looking at six to eleven years, which I know is a pretty wide margin, but at this point with it being purely speculation it's hard to predict. However, if it's going to happen this would mean Montreal would have a baseball team by 2025 at the latest. Will it happen? Only time will tell.
What do you think of Montreal's chances of getting a team back? Let me know by either commenting below this post or find me on twitter @thewildman111
photo taken from toddradom.com
No comments:
Post a Comment