Montreal mayor Denis Coderre is set to meet with Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred at the end of the month. Among the topics they’ll discuss will be baseball’s return to the province, according to the Canadian Press.
“We will show Mr. Manfred our love for the sport,” Coderre said in an interview. “I don’t want to negotiate openly, but we’ll clearly talk about Montreal.”
From 1969 to 2004, the city supported the Montreal Expos. Due to poor attendance, and ownership issues, the club left and relocated to Washington, D.C.
While Manfred has spoken positively about Montreal in the past, he acknowledges that one of the biggest issues the city is facing is a proper stadium.
“The key thing in Montreal would be to have a plan for an adequate facility that could support baseball over the long haul,” Manfred told The Canadian Press in March.
Though Olympic Stadium has been the site of well-attended spring games in recent seasons, the park was a major problem during the Expos tenure. Construction forced the team to play elsewhere during their first couple seasons, and the park desperately needed to be renovated during the final years.
Despite the meeting, there’s no timetable for a team is relocate, or for MLB to discuss expansion right now. Both Manfred and Coderre refused to discuss how long it might take before Montreal has a team again.
For now, the whole thing seems incredibly premature. Manfred has supported Montreal in the past, and there are some who are very passionate about bringing a team back. Given that there’s no urgency on either side, this seems like a way for Manfred to gauge whether Montreal could be a candidate for a club down the road.
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That could take years, and Montreal won’t be the only city vying for a club once expansion or relocation becomes a legitimate possibility. Fans who want baseball back in the province should be encouraged about the meeting, but it’s far too early to start reserving those season ticket plans.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
- Sports & Recreation
- Baseball
- Montreal Expos
- Rob Manfred
- Major League Baseball
- Denis Coderre
