Selig leaves glimmer of hope for Expos fans

[declan_44]

Although it's about as concrete as Beeston's promise of grass...

 

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/selig-see-montreal-bid-return-212646576--mlb.html

[eastcoastjaysfan]

Montreal doesn't deserve a team.

[Frenchsoup]

Montreal doesn't deserve a team.

 

Neither does Tampa

[Art Vandelay]

Tampa deserves a team because they have an ownership group who has decided the team will play in Tampa. And they have a stadium suitable for Major League play..

 

Well, they have a stadium.

 

This was to be the new Expos stadium:

 

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/future/renderings/labatt11952.JPG

 

http://www.stadiumpage.com/blog/labatt1.jpg

 

I believe the land where the stadium would have been built is now gone.

 

Here's the latest proposed stadium

 

http://www.mtlblog.com/uploads/2013/12/x11340796646_c9e5cfd9a6_c-650x439.jpg.pagespeed.ic.j4mTntFqP1.jpg

 

http://www.themainmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/baseball_expos_griffintown_stadium1-960x682.jpg

 

Expos were in basically the same situation the Rays are in now. Lousy stadium in a bad location.

[CJ-Freeway]

Montreal doesn't deserve a team.

 

Really? Why? Attendance outdrew Yanks and Mets in part of the 80's, all we would need is a good ballclub who wouldn't trade every star player at the start of every new season. Oh and a new ballpark of course.

[GeorgiaPeach]

Well, they have a stadium.

 

This was to be the new Expos stadium:

 

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/future/renderings/labatt11952.JPG

 

http://www.stadiumpage.com/blog/labatt1.jpg

 

I believe the land where the stadium would have been built is now gone.

 

Here's the latest proposed stadium

 

http://www.mtlblog.com/uploads/2013/12/x11340796646_c9e5cfd9a6_c-650x439.jpg.pagespeed.ic.j4mTntFqP1.jpg

 

http://www.themainmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/baseball_expos_griffintown_stadium1-960x682.jpg

 

Expos were in basically the same situation the Rays are in now. Lousy stadium in a bad location.

 

So essentially the old stadium was supposed to look like Progressive Field and the new one Target Field. I hope the architects deciding this aren't part of the Montreal push, because the creativity in the design is a hack job at best.

[JFD]

Montreal doesn't deserve a team.

 

 

Montreal had its chance

 

need a Canadian team on the west coast

[Art Vandelay]

So essentially the old stadium was supposed to look like Progressive Field and the new one Target Field. I hope the architects deciding this aren't part of the Montreal push, because the creativity in the design is a hack job at best.

 

I have no idea if these would have been the finished products. Look at some of the designs proposed for the Skydome, back in the day:

 

http://blogimages.thescore.com/djf/files/2013/09/domeBHmodel.jpg

 

http://blogimages.thescore.com/djf/files/2013/09/domeCBmodel.jpg

[dineke]

Really? Why? Attendance outdrew Yanks and Mets in part of the 80's, all we would need is a good ballclub who wouldn't trade every star player at the start of every new season. Oh and a new ballpark of course.

 

But they're French Canadian.

[eastcoastjaysfan]

If they tried to build a stadium in Montreal right now I would bet my life savings that it would go over budget by like 500% and would never, ever be finished on time. They can't even pave their own streets, how the hell are they supposed to be able to build a new, state-of-the-art baseball stadium?

 

Also, good luck getting Quebec tax payers to foot that bill.

[TBJ12]

I have no idea if these would have been the finished products. Look at some of the designs proposed for the Skydome, back in the day:

 

http://blogimages.thescore.com/djf/files/2013/09/domeCBmodel.jpg

 

They must have really liked this proposal.

[sh3156]

Honestly this is a pipe dream. MLB team could work in Vancouver though,

 

I cant even imagine what those games would be like,

[FireAlexAnthopoulos]

Really? Why? Attendance outdrew Yanks and Mets in part of the 80's, all we would need is a good ballclub who wouldn't trade every star player at the start of every new season. Oh and a new ballpark of course.

This. Fans were the least of the Expos' problems. Stadium issues, s***** ownership, Selig, the Blue Jays stealing the Expos' TV rights outside of Montreal, and the 1994 strike are what killed the Expos. The fans showed up until they got tired of being screwed over.

[KingKat]

In an alternative world scenario, baseball probably could have worked in Montreal but the failure of the Expos is very much tied to the failure of Olympic Stadium and that failure is pretty much irreversible. It's an unnatractive stadium in an accessible but not otherwise atractive location. It's basically just a more accessible Tropicana Field in a larger but overwhelmingly hockey centric market. More importantly, Olympic Stadium provided such an underwhelming return on (massive) investment that no taxpayer wants to fit the bill for another stadium, even if that stadium might allow the Expos to not only survive but thrive in Montreal. So if you're say the Rays, you'd basically escape Tropicana Field to willingly resign yourself to Olympic Stadium to innefectively exploit a large but not particularly supportive market.

[CJ-Freeway]

But they're French Canadian.

 

Lol that's not cool bro! French Canadian people are actually pretty nice and friendly. They just like to drink a lot lol. Oh and not all Montreal neighborhoods are French; a lot of Anglo neighborhoods here.

 

And Vancouver is nice but fact is, Montreal is the 2nd biggest Canadian city so MLB would be better off here.

 

And most Expos' fans favorite AL team has always been the Jays, thus you Toronto guys should keep the Expos in your hearts too! Never forget

[CJ-Freeway]

This. Fans were the least of the Expos' problems. Stadium issues, s***** ownership, Selig, the Blue Jays stealing the Expos' TV rights outside of Montreal, and the 1994 strike are what killed the Expos. The fans showed up until they got tired of being screwed over.

 

Exactly... but don't forget the Pedro trade after 97... that was a major momentum killer.

[eastcoastjaysfan]

Can someone please give me some insight as to why the Expos attendance fell off a cliff between 1983 and 1984 and then never recovered? They were always around a .500 team during that period. Thanks

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1983-misc.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/1984-misc.shtml

[CJ-Freeway]

If they tried to build a stadium in Montreal right now I would bet my life savings that it would go over budget by like 500% and would never, ever be finished on time. They can't even pave their own streets, how the hell are they supposed to be able to build a new, state-of-the-art baseball stadium?

 

Also, good luck getting Quebec tax payers to foot that bill.

 

True, most taxpayers here would not approve of funding a new stadium atm. But eventually they will with some media and political help.

 

Our streets suck thanks to corruption from the Mayor's office, and most political positions in the Montreal area are directly or indirectly tied to the Italian mob, which basically runs all construction contracts. Cops are trying to stop them but I don't know how you could get rid of these guys, they have been doing this under the radar for over 100 years lol.

[The Cats Ass]

I think Montreal deserves a new team. Just don't let Loria own it. That's the main reason they fell apart the first time. Greedy bastard would keep any good player, you can see he's running the Marlins the same way. Fire sale after fire sale, just so he can pocket the cash.

[reedjohnsonfan]

Looking at the standings, they weren't even close to the Cubs in 1984 but in 83 they hung in the race it looks like.

[Inklink]

On the one hand, I would like to see a team in MTL. On the other, WE'RE CANADA'S TEAM DAMMIT!

 

Also, that 2nd Skydome proposal from back in the day actually looks good to me LOL

[KingKat]

Things that killed the Expos:

 

1. Montreal's decline. It was once Canada's first city and economic centre. That's now Toronto and some would even argue that Vancouver not Montreal is effectively Canada's second city.

2. Not only did Toronto become Canada's first city but it also became Canada's baseball city. The Expos were no longer a national team with the the creation of the Blue Jays. If it wasn't for the Blue Jays, the Expos would probably be still be around feeding content to Sportsnet or TSN or somebody and this board would be an Expos board. Back when both franchises existed, NOT EVERY Canadian baseball fan outside of Quebec was a Blue Jays fan first but certainly MOST of them were.

3. The big O. I already went over this but basically it's a white Elephant and it created a perfectly sensible reluctance to building another taxpayer financed stadium.

4. The Charles Bronfman sale. He was just the kind of commited owner that Expos fans dream of when they hope someone will come along and bring back the franchise. He loved the Expos and piloted them for thirty years from 1968 to 1989. When he threw in the towel, it was basically over. They never found a commited owner again and they still probably couldn't.

5. Salary inflation in the nineties combined with a weak Canadian dollar made the cost of doing business much higher. This caused a revenue crunch even before attendance started to dwindle.

6. Losing the franchise's best season. What kind of marketing boon could the 1994 season have provided from a marketing perspective? Maybe it's naive to think it would have saved the franchise but of course we'll never know. It might have bought the franchise some more time. Conversely, the lost season and subsequent fire sale probably accelerated the decline.

[FireAlexAnthopoulos]

Looking at the standings, they weren't even close to the Cubs in 1984 but in 83 they hung in the race it looks like.

The lack of a wildcard in the playoffs back then really screwed the late '70s/early '80s Expos out of multiple playoff appearances.

[GD]

Portland deserves a team.

[Atothe]

Portland deserves a team.

 

if we're going that route, San Juan deserves a team as well

[Orgfiller]

Those f***ing idiots put more effort in the jumbo screen than the playing surface. They f***ed up in 1989. They f***ed up huge.

 

I strongly disagree, the Skydome was a state of the art baseball stadium that featured (the only?) retractable roof in baseball (we're living in Canada here, it's huge to have that) and the largest screen in the world, which is a pretty cool thing to have. People now don't like it as much but at the time it was really innovative and provided Toronto with a real Major League Baseball stadium that was also versatile enough to host various large events (unfortunately the f***ing Argos had to show up and stick around).

[GD]

Hasn't it rained like every day in the last week? We get rainy summers and s***** weather in the Spring. The dome is very useful.

[GeorgiaPeach]

You just disagree with me about everything. Its f***ing hot as balls in Toronto during the summer. We could perfectly support an outdoor stadium.

 

He was explaining what it was at the time, which is 100% accurate. Camden Yards built a couple years after was the starting point to the retro stadium craze.

 

We needed a baseball only stadium and we still do. Hopefully one day they will get it right. But for now the focus is getting rid of the Argos as soon as possible so we can atleast get grass.

 

Haven't you been paying attention of late? The Jays Brass are looking into replacing the turf with a grass surface when the Argos lease expires around 2017 and the Rogers Centre becomes a baseball only facility.

[ElNik2013]

Well, they have a stadium.

 

This was to be the new Expos stadium:

 

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/future/renderings/labatt11952.JPG

 

http://www.stadiumpage.com/blog/labatt1.jpg

 

I believe the land where the stadium would have been built is now gone.

 

Here's the latest proposed stadium

 

http://www.mtlblog.com/uploads/2013/12/x11340796646_c9e5cfd9a6_c-650x439.jpg.pagespeed.ic.j4mTntFqP1.jpg

 

http://www.themainmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/baseball_expos_griffintown_stadium1-960x682.jpg

 

Expos were in basically the same situation the Rays are in now. Lousy stadium in a bad location.

 

 

 

 

Gotta be downtown if it's gonna be a success, that new potential site seems too far away from downtown...and the strip joints.

[ElNik2013]

So essentially the old stadium was supposed to look like Progressive Field and the new one Target Field. I hope the architects deciding this aren't part of the Montreal push, because the creativity in the design is a hack job at best.

 

 

Sorry Peach, but in this discussion between you and Vandelay, I'll have to side with the Architect.