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Post by mikecubs on Sept 10, 2013 17:10:48 GMT -6
Jays to play pre-season games in Montreal vs. Mets
Olympic Stadium last hosted game in 2004Major League Baseball is heading back to Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Toronto Blue Jays will play their final two pre-season games next spring on March 28-29 at the former home of the Expos against the New York Mets. "We are excited to bring the Blue Jays to Montreal, play in Montreal and give the fans a taste of Major League Baseball again," Blue Jays president Paul Beeston said in a statement. "This will be a very meaningful experience knowing the strength and passion of baseball fans in Quebec." Montreal played to small crowds by the time the Expos were sold and moved to Washington to become the Nationals following the 2004 season. Olympic Stadium hasn’t hosted a baseball game of any kind since Sept. 29, 2004 when the Florida Marlins defeated the Expos 9-1. Beeston entertained the idea of bringing a spring training game to Montreal in April 2011 as part of the team’s approach to build a cross-country fan base. "Being from Montreal, this is going to be a great thrill," said Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I started my career with the Expos and spent many a game at Olympic Stadium. It will be exciting to see the Big O come to life again." Baseball Quebec will also be involved during the two-game series by offering clinics at Olympic Stadium to promote the development of the sport among young people throughout the province. On July 20, about 1,000 Expos fans, hoping to attract the attention of MLB’s movers and shakers, packed into the outfield bleachers at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The group wore the defunct club's traditional red, white and baby blue and held up signs promoting their cause. "Our goal is to celebrate the history of the Expos and show that there is still a viable market for it," said Matthew Ross, who runs the website Expos Nation and helped organize the trip. "We do everything we can to drum up nostalgia for the team and at the same time focus on the future." About 200 people made a similar trek to Toronto last season. The Montreal Baseball Project, a group founded a year-and-a-half ago by former Expos outfielder/first baseman Warren Cromartie, is a focal point of the renewed interest in the team. At events around the city over the past year, Cromartie has made his sales pitch for bringing back baseball. Tuesday’s announcement could bring back talk of Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium as a potential site for a pre-season game featuring Toronto and Seattle. Andy Dunn, president of the single-A Vancouver Canadians, reportedly kicked the tires on such an idea two years ago in the middle of a $563-million refurbishment of the stadium, which is home to the Canadian Football League’s B.C. Lions and Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps. www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/story/2013/09/10/sp-toronto-blue-jays-pre-season-montreal-olympic-stadium.html
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2013 21:50:57 GMT -6
Interesting......
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Post by jjmoohead on Sept 11, 2013 9:28:38 GMT -6
This is pretty great. I miss the expos. I still think we will see them back in Montreal at some point.
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Post by Tim on Sept 11, 2013 10:17:20 GMT -6
Kind of like rubbing salt into a wound. MLB does not need Montreal!
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Post by donwood on Sept 11, 2013 10:30:16 GMT -6
Montreal has a long baseball tradition, With Tampa drawing flies despite a winner hopefully, we might see MLB return to Montreal.
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Post by Tim on Sept 11, 2013 11:06:30 GMT -6
Montreal has a long baseball tradition, With Tampa drawing flies despite a winner hopefully, we might see MLB return to Montreal. They planning to play in the new hockey rink? Until a new facility is built that ship has sailed!
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Post by mikecubs on Sept 13, 2013 0:33:28 GMT -6
^^^Tim, you're probably right. I think the is being done for leverage against Tampa Bay politicians. Still if they don't pony up who knows what can happen. Montreal is the only city big enough demographically and corporately to support MLB that is open in either Canada and the US. Key is to sell these 2 games out to send a message. According to this video it's likely in the next year both the mayor of Montreal and the Premier of Quebec are likely to be baseball fans. That's something that's never happened before.
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Post by JETStender on Sept 18, 2013 15:50:35 GMT -6
Here's an excellent Documentary on the Montreal Expos called Triumph & Tragedy.
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Post by mikecubs on Sept 20, 2013 0:27:57 GMT -6
^^^ I saw this a long time ago. Very good video for the most part. Definitely worth watching. Only bad parts were where they said the Expos would have been one of the leagues elite teams with a new park(umm hell no though maybe they would have been viable) and the part where they tastelessly compared the Expos to a person with cancer(get real it's only sports). There did a very good job explaining the financial aspects and how it all went wrong. A lot of people don't realize how catastrophic it was when the Blue Jays moved in and the Expos because Quebec's team instead of Canada's team.
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Post by mikecubs on Sept 20, 2013 0:29:47 GMT -6
Yet another sewage problem in Oakland! Sewage backup highlights need for new Oakland stadium ... again The Oakland Athletics’ need for a new stadium was highlighted again Tuesday night when a sewage backup from a bathroom adjacent to the A’s dugout forced players and coaches to watch the final three innings of their 2-1 walk-off win over the Angels from the top step. The problem wasn’t as severe as the massive sewage backup that spilled into both clubhouses in June, forcing players from the A’s and Seattle Mariners to shower in the Oakland Raiders’ locker room at O.co Coliseum. But it left several inches of toilet water in the A’s dugout, which stadium workers were still mopping up two hours before Wednesday’s game. “It wasn’t as bad as it looked, but it’s still bad,” Oakland catcher Derek Norris said. “It’s part of the things you have to deal with here. It’s not fun. It’s not awesome. But we have to just keep playing, and hopefully someday we’ll move into a nice new stadium that doesn’t have health hazards all over the place.” Lew Wolff has been the point man in searching for a new stadium since 2003, first as the team’s vice president of venue development and then as managing partner. In 2009, after the collapse of a proposed site in Fremont, Wolff pitched a move to San Jose. The San Francisco Giants have territorial rights there, so Commissioner Bud Selig appointed a task force to evaluate the situation. After four years with no decision, the city of San Jose sued Major League Baseball in June. MLB has asked that the suit be thrown out, citing the immunity provided by its federal antitrust exemption. A hearing is set for Oct. 4. But instead of using Tuesday’s plumbing snafu to intensify lobbying efforts for a new stadium, Wolff defended the antiquated, 45-year-old Coliseum. “We’re making a bigger issue of it than it really is,” Wolff said. “It’s not fair to all the people at the Coliseum, all of the staff here, who work hard to keep this place going. We haven’t had that many problems of that nature. This could happen in your house.” www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-oakland-coliseum-sewage-backup-20130918,0,1444036.story#axzz2fLcVEcAo
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Post by Bruinsfan on Sept 20, 2013 22:12:46 GMT -6
im certain the A's and Raiders are pumping sewage into the coliseum to get the hell out of oakland.
Montreal IMO will get a team. I dont think Tampa will ever get a stadium, nor do i think the MLB actually wants to stay there. To be honest they would rather stick a third team in the NY metro area then play there anymore. Montreal in the AL east makes all sort of sense...rivalry with toronto, gets NY, Boston, and Balitmore fans to travel up north for some gravy fries and strippers.
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Post by Bruinsfan on Sept 20, 2013 22:16:47 GMT -6
The best option for montreal would be to build a multi purpose stadium similar to the rogers center, slightly smaller though.
make it about 30k for the CFL expandable 45 for the grey cup, and 40k for the Expos. That type of building could bring Wrestlemania to Montreal, conventions, UFC, concerts, etc. and it would be worth the investment. Cant be another olympic style stadium. Has to be a true multipurpose convention center with a great config for baseball...retractable roof as well.
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Post by mikecubs on Sept 21, 2013 1:30:04 GMT -6
im certain the A's and Raiders are pumping sewage into the coliseum to get the hell out of oakland. Montreal IMO will get a team. I dont think Tampa will ever get a stadium, nor do i think the MLB actually wants to stay there. To be honest they would rather stick a third team in the NY metro area then play there anymore. Montreal in the AL east makes all sort of sense...rivalry with toronto, gets NY, Boston, and Balitmore fans to travel up north for some gravy fries and strippers. The Raiders and A's can leave when they want. They don't have leases at the end of the year. The problem is the A's still don't have permission to move to San Jose and LA still has no concrete plans for a new stadium that an NFL team would LIKE. MLB does want to stay in Tampa on their terms. A new stadium has to be built. Tampa is the 14th largest TV market in the US. The Rays do usually get good local TV ratings at least. Having a team in Tampa helps with national TV deals. With a foreign team you lose a US market share. The other thing is St. Pete has a lease for 15 more years!!!! Lately talk of going to Tampa stalled because the Rays don't want to pay out anything to leave St. Pete early. Even if the Rays change their minds St. Pete will ONLY let the Rays talk to Tampa NOT other cities. The St. Pete mayor doesn't want to be the "bad" guy who lets the team leave the area on his watch. Other bad news is that this week the Montreal mayor hopeful that was a baseball fan clarified his position on a Expos return. He wants them back but no public money will be spent on a stadium. Fans(realistic ones) were hoping that he'd help fund a stadium. Tampa's mayor will at least kick something in though it's unclear how much. Either city will need a crap load of public funding. Either Montreal or Tampa will be one of the weakest teams in the league even with a new park. There is absolutely less than 0 chance of a 3rd NY team. Or LA team. Baseball has an anti-trust exemption controlling franchise movement. It would go 100% completely against MLB's style to do something like that. Selig would never ever hurt another owner and a relocation vote of adding a 3rd New York team would fail. All the other big markets, plus Seattle(protecting their Portland tv deal) would vote against it. The Coyotes have a better chance of leading the NHL in revenue than a 3rd New York ever existing. MLB would relocate the Rays to the moon before they violate territory rights. Look at the trouble the A's have just moving within their own market.
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Post by mikecubs on Sept 21, 2013 1:49:41 GMT -6
The best option for montreal would be to build a multi purpose stadium similar to the rogers center, slightly smaller though. make it about 30k for the CFL expandable 45 for the grey cup, and 40k for the Expos. That type of building could bring Wrestlemania to Montreal, conventions, UFC, concerts, etc. and it would be worth the investment. Cant be another olympic style stadium. Has to be a true multipurpose convention center with a great config for baseball...retractable roof as well. NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! A retro park is the way to go. Multipurpose stadiums are a thing of the past. They are a total disaster. The seats face the wrong way(at MLB parks they are suppose to face home plate/at football stadiums they are suppose to face the 50 yard line, at multipurpose stadiums the seats face 2nd base) and the circular shape pushes fans far away from the action. Other than Oakland Coliseum and Tropicana Field in Tampa/St. Pete the Rogers Centre is the worst ballpark by far in MLB. I really hope the Jays get a new stadium. I bet within 10 years there will be talk of that. The Jays should demolish the dome, sell the valuable land it sits on or do their own development on the land to pay for a new open air/non circular/smaller capacity retro park. A stadium like you mention would need a roof which would add about 200M to the cost. An open air stadium even without roofs now days costs at least 535 million. 40,000 is also too big. Minnesota's new park seats 39,000 some, Miami only seats 36,000 some, other smaller markets like Pittsburgh only seats 38,000 some. The Expos old Labatt Park proposal in the 90's had 35,000 some seats which I think would be perfect if Montreal did get a team. Find some land near the Lawrence River and build a PNC Park style Park, if Montreal ever gets a team/funding. Other problem with attracting all those events is that the Bell Centre already hosts all that. I'm not sure how much would be left over. Remember Montreal is realistically only half the size of Toronto demographically so they Toronto gets more events that can't all be booked at Air Canada Centre.
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Post by Bruinsfan on Sept 21, 2013 20:53:00 GMT -6
Mike...no canadian city will ever get a baseball team without a roof, sorry to burst that bubble. Needs a roof. And the rogers center is not the same as the old concrete donuts of the past....
Cant play baseball in canada without a roof. Its almost too cold in boston to play in the world series.....montreal? forget about it.
no roof no team. No multi purpose no stadium...no way that city builds a ball park for an imaginary team..they will build it for the team they currently have and to host super events like the grey cup, like wrestlemania.
make it baseball first so the sightlines are correct and the new innovations in field turf allow a favorable config for canadian football.
btw, the worst baseball park in america is fenway park. think watching a game in toronto is bad, fenway right field seats face center field...you have to watch looking sideways and they are the size of a depression era starved child.
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