Exposteve

I'd like to believe this guy truly is close a "source" but I don't think I do. I am confident there are plenty of discussions and there are investors considering it, but I have a hard time believing we're as close as this person makes it sound. The E&Y feasibility study listed five possible sites, of which three were in the downtown area... 1) Bonaventure Expressway, a little further south than Notre Dame, 2) Wellington Basin, 3) Children's Hospital.

It might be a good fit for Griffintown. Also - It's not unreasonable to expect that either Marriott or Hilton would be interested in a new-build property for Montreal. Both the Marriott Chateau Champlain and the Hilton Bonaventure are "sub-optimal" properties for these brands. The Chateau Champlain is a bit of a landmark and recently underwent some room renovations, but it's still relatively dated inside, especially with regards to the size of the bathrooms, common areas, pool area, lobby. There is potential here, but they may be limited within the bones of that building. As for the Hilton Bonaventure, this is another unique property that I don't think allows Hilton to showcase its latest and greatest.

I don't think Montreal is a 3-star hotel city... I just think when you look at the hotels that were closed recently, Four Points, Courtyard, Holiday Inn, that's where there's an opportunity to build new ones. Montreal also had a shortage of "premium-two and three-star" brands such as Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Homewood Suites. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Hampton pop up soon (we know there was a Homewood proposed for de la Montagne which fell through). Also, the Holiday Inn Express/Candlewood Suite twins near Chinatown are becoming outdated and will either need to be refreshed or converted to a different use. While Toronto has built a few luxury hotels in recent years, they also built a number of Residence Inn/Hilton Garden Inn/Courtyard type properties. These are key brands for the average tourist (good price/quality ratio). A lot of business travelers would also prefer a brand new Courtyard or Hilton Garden Inn to an outdated 4-star. I know I would, in most cases. Montreal recently opened the Westin on Saint-Antoine, will see a Renaissance on University/Cathcart in 2015, and we know there is the potential for a JW Marriott or Waldorf Astoria at some point. We have a relatively high number of boutique hotels (throughout Old Montreal + Le Germain). We have a W hotel which does really well - something Toronto still does not have. So my opinion is that this is a refreshing of the stock rather than a sign of what Montreal can support. Montreal as a hotel market has a pretty healthy distribution of luxury (Ritz, Sofitel, Loews, Boutique Hotels, Le Germain, W Hotel) 4-star/conference hotels (Intercontinental, Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Delta, Omni), 3-star all-purpose hotels (Embassy Suites, Residence Inn, Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Novotel), and 2-star (Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites). For a while, I think Montreal was missing the next-generation of 3-stars and now we're filling that need... there was too wide a gap between luxury and 2-star. Hilton is launching a new brand, "Canopy" in 2015 and I wouldn't be surprised if Montreal is among the first Canadian openings (pure speculation). http://news.hiltonworldwide.com/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/27567

From Montreal Baseball Project today:

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2014/07/07/javais-la-crainte-quon-perde-le-grand-prix Michael Fortier nous a donné rendez-vous au 41e étage de la place Ville-Marie, dans les salons privés de la Banque Royale. De là-haut, Montréal est grouillante, le Mont-Royal domine le paysage. L’ex-ministre conservateur aime tout particulièrement le point de vue sud. On y voit Habitat 67, les îles sous le pont Jacques Cartier, mais aussi le Silo no.5, rouillé et abandonné dans le Vieux-Port. «Il faut faire quelque chose avec ce quartier-là. Ça prend des initiatives et du leadership», lance-t-il. Il n'est plus en politique depuis 2008, mais la politique ne l'a clairement pas quitté même s'il a renoncé à la dernière course à la mairie de Montréal. Du haut de sa tour de verre, il regarde la ville qu'il aurait pu diriger, ce qui ne l'empêche pas de commenter, de s'impliquer. D'ailleurs, il n'exclut pas un retour en politique active, même si on sent une légère hésitation. «J’haïrais pas ça. Je pense que je veux continuer à servir. Mais je démontre qu’on peut aussi s'impliquer dans la société sans être en politique. Mais si je n’en faisais pas, je n’en ferais pas une maladie», dit-il avant d'avouer que plusieurs partis l'ont sollicité au fil des ans. Car Fortier a choisi une autre voie, le sentier doré de la finance. Depuis 2010, c'est à la Banque Royale qu'il occupe son emploi du temps comme vice-président du conseil RBC marchés des capitaux. «Je fais surtout des fusions et des acquisitions. J’ai toujours aimé faire des "deals"», dit-il avec large sourire. Amateur de baseball Cette adrénaline, il l'obtient aussi en s'agitant dans plusieurs dossiers comme celui du retour (très hypothétique) des Expos à Montréal. Une idée qui fait briller les yeux du principal intéressé, amateur de baseball et ancien joueur junior. S'il concède que ce serait difficile, il croit qu'un nouveau stade est une condition sine qua non pour un retour du baseball majeur. «Allez au Stade olympique, c’est plus compliqué. J'y suis allé deux fois, ce n’est pas un stade de baseball. [...] Il n’y en aura pas d’Expos sans un nouveau stade. Ce n’est pas compliqué, il n’y en aura pas», répète-t-il. Mais l'homme est têtu. Il l'a déjà prouvé avec le Grand Prix de Montréal. Une opération de sauvetage à haute voltige qui l'a amené à négocier avec Bernie Ecclestone. Tout comme le grand argentier de la Formule 1, il avoue que la dernière négociation a été la plus ardue. «Oui, ça été la plus difficile. Il y a des gens qui ont démissionné, qui ont quitté la mairie. Le gouvernement libéral a perdu une élection. Le nouveau gouvernement péquiste qui perd après. J'avais toujours de nouveaux intervenants. [...] Je ne pouvais jamais dire à Ecclestone, on a un "deal"», relate-t-il. Ainsi, l'instabilité politique, surtout à Montréal avec les démissions de Gérald Tremblay, puis l'arrestation de Michael Applebaum, ont presque fait dérailler le processus. «J’avais toujours la crainte qu’à Londres, on les perde. Il y avait des risques qu’on perde le Grand Prix. Qu'une autre ville arrive. [...] Mais Bernie Ecclestone ne m’a jamais menacé. Il a été patient, car il y a des moments, je l’appelais pour lui dire : je pense qu’on est proche d’un "deal"… Mais là, le maire changeait», dit-il.

Per this article in The Gazette: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Montreal+picked+five+hubs+Future+Earth+project/10008798/story.html Montreal has been selected as one of five global hubs for a United Nations project called Future Earth, an ambitious 10-year initiative to build and connect international research on the environment and sustainable development — and to find ways to intensify and accelerate the impact of that research. It is a united, international effort to create sustainability and advance scientific study on questions of environmental impact, to merge science and public policy — and to address urgent environmental challenges. Future Earth’s globally distributed secretariat will also have hubs in Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm and Boulder, Colo. Those involved in petitioning to get the hub here — there were at least 20 competing bids — believe that Montreal’s star will definitely shine brighter on the international stage now. While the project will involve all of Montreal’s universities, Concordia University will house the local hub that will bring together Quebec researchers to contribute to this major scientific initiative. It is news that has Concordia president Alan Shepard smiling these days, although he is primarily focused on what a coup this is for Montreal and the opportunities he believes will emerge from it. “This is great for Montreal and very good for Concordia,” Shepard said in an interview on Monday. “We’ll be the host but it’s collaborative, an intersection for all the universities in Montreal to work together on climate change and the health of the Earth.” The universities came together to work on a joint proposal to lobby for the hub at the urging of Montréal International, which acts as an economic driver for Greater Montreal. Montréal International vice-president Stéphanie Allard is also convinced that Montreal’s involvement in the project can only be a boon to its universities and to the city itself. “It’s a very big opportunity for all the universities and for Montreal,” said Allard, who oversees international organizations. “It will increase our visibility in the world, it will establish us as an international city and it will certainly make us more attractive to researchers.” Future Earth is the result of a commitment made in 2012, at the United Nations conference Rio+20, to develop a new international network to advance sustainability. It is being overseen by the International Council of Science, a non-governmental association with a goal to strengthen international science for the benefit of society. The project is committed to developing the knowledge for responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change and for supporting transformation towards global sustainability in the coming decades. It will mobilize tens of thousands of scientists while strengthening partnerships with policy-makers and other stakeholders in the quest for a sustainable planet. “Solutions to the major sustainability challenges facing humanity require integrated science and a closer relationship with policy-makers and stakeholders than we have seen to date,” said Yuan-Tseh Lee, president of the ICSU. “Future Earth has been designed to respond to these urgent needs, and I am impressed by the innovative consortium that has come together to drive the program forward.” In making its pitch, Montréal International cited that Montreal has a rich, diverse and high quality research network already in place, that it is multicultural and multilinguistic, that it is very well-positioned to be a hub and that office space is cheaper here than in many cities. Shepard said it’s hard to say what financial benefits there could be for the city, but he said having the secretariat will certainly bring UN resources, international visitors, research opportunities, graduate students and lots of attention. “Montreal becomes a neuronetwork and it’s glowing really bright,” he said, adding that the project meshed well with Concordia’s “intellectual values” of integrating different academic disciplines. An added bonus is that it also fits well with a preoccupation of the university’s students, namely sustainability and environmental science. “Future Earth clearly recognizes Montreal’s research capacity and the valuable contribution we will make in developing solutions to global environmental challenges,” said Shepard. “It’s a beautiful thing to have in your city; it will bring great intellectual leadership and passion and opportunity.” kseidman@montrealgazette.com Twitter: KSeidman

Westaus - I agree it's not as black and white as i've put it. Also agree that Montrealer buying baseball tickets is more of a redistribution of spending than anything else. However, you're adding new visibility, bringing in new tourists (some would come anyway, but baseball is special in that many fans travel given that it's summer and each ballpark is so unique), and of course you're adding player salaries, etc. So unless there's a truly profitable business plan for Olympic Stadium that can compete with an eventual Expos stadium proposal, I sure hope preference is given to a downtown ballpark. And let's also clarify that under no circumstances is anyone suggesting we build a stadium without securing a franchise. An expansion franchise would allow enough time to build a stadium, and relocation would require two seasons at Olympic Stadium (which shouldn't be an issue given games run from April to September, and unlike a Grey Cup they can be rescheduled in the event of snow.

Entièrement d'accord avec Habsfan. Without a truly solid businessplan for a revamped Olympic Stadium, it is not worth the cost. Even with a brand new roof, it needs a good $100 million + to renovate the interior to bring it up to even the most minimum of current standards. Under the current scenario, spending $300 million for a roof plus at least $100 million on other renovations will only allow the Stadium to host occasional sporting events and trade shows from November-March (i.e. incremental business). We have Place Bonaventure and Le Palais des Congres for tradeshows... the number of NEW events that would come to Montreal (that can`t currently come to Montreal because of the current state of the roof) would likely be nowhere near worth the cost. It might cannibalize a few events that take place in other Montreal venues, but is unlikely to attract many truly new events. A downtown ballpark would bring NEW events to Montreal. It's a difficult discussion. But ultimately I think the future of Olympic Stadium is without a roof. Renovate the interior (let's say $100 million) and remove the roof... it can host occasional soccer and football games. It can be repurposed as an amateur sports training centre when not in use, both summer and winter. If there's a truly profitable alternative, then obviously it's worth a look, but today we don't have such a proposal. Most cities, even in our climate, do not have enclosed/retractable roof stadiums - it's not a necessity, not is it a true selling point aside from a very small number of possible events.

Fin de semaine de baseball absolument incroyable. When I entered the Stadium on Friday night it's as if time had just stopped for 10 years. It felt like nothing had changed and we were about to watch an Expos game. The atmosphere is great, the games were fun, and as a die-hard Expos fan it was nice to be back at Olympic Stadium with a packed house... something I never thought I'd see again. While the Jays were the "home" team, and the fans cheered for them, it was clear that the Expos were the true home team. Most fans were wearing Expos gear and chanting Let's Go Expos. While nobody will argue that Olympic Stadium is fun when it's full and loud, this weekend only further clarified that a new downtown stadium is needed for baseball to really work here. Yes, Olympic Stadium can be a viable short term solution. Yes, it's fun when it's full. But no, it's not suitable for a business crowd which is what would REALLY ensure the long-term health of the franchise. It's so dull and cavernous, even with 25,000 people in there (still a decent crowd) it feels mostly empty. While renovations could improve the concessions (which were a travesty all weekend long, running out of food, breakdowns of equipment), scoreboard and sound system... they won't be able to change the configuration of many of the seats which don't face the optimal direction, are too far from the field in many areas, and of course there's the roof. And EVEN if the roof was off, let's face it, it's not a true exterior vista, it's basically a giant hole in the ceiling. Plus, there are not nearly enough corporate suites. I'd love for Olympic Stadium to be a good long-term option, but I cannot believe in that project in the current context of MLB. But back to the positive side, it's impossible for games to have gone much better. I'm sure organizers will bring the event back next year, and I'm sure it will be a success again. Montreal loves baseball - and now we have another example of how the market feels. Sure two games is not a full season. But two giant crowds for grapefruit league games with two non-home teams in a non-baseball stadium in a wet, snowy March at prices that are about 25% higher on average than what they charge in Toronto... that says something. There are enormous obstacles in the way, even if all the stars align. Expansion requires two franchises and there's not currently another market locked and loaded for baseball. And relocation will always be the last resort for MLB, as it was for Montreal in 2004. While the Rays are #30 in attendance, they still have reasonably good TV ratings and have a good following - there's potential there.

Nice to see this investment. From what I can tell, their current Canadian HQ is currently in Ville St-Laurent at 1111 Boul. Dr Frederick-Philips...

I'm reading the Up, Up and Away book now - it's spectacular and a must-read for any Montrealer or any baseball fan. Even if you never really followed the Expos, there's a lot of interesting information and the author does a great job of telling the stories. Jonah Keri is a Montrealer and was a huge Expos fan, he's done a great job. I will be at both games this weekend and will attend a number of the other events planned. To get you in the mood as we approach the weekend... Enjoy!

Bonjour, À plusieurs reprises j'ai vu circuler l'illustration de Richard Bergeron indiquant un stade de baseball comme occupant potentiel d'un site pres de la rue Brennan suite à la démolition/réaménagement de l'autoroute Bonaventure. Voici un exemple: http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2010/01/13/projet-montreal-has-a-spot-reserved-for-expos-but-will-there-be-parking/ Selon le plan du projet Bonaventure de la Ville (lien plus bas), on dirait que l'autoroute serait réaménagé seulement à partir de la rue Wellington. Est-ce que le projet de Richard Bergeron était seulement hypothétique (phases possible dans le futur) ou est-ce qu'il y a vraiment un plan pour libérer le terrain de la rue Brennan? http://www.projetbonaventure.ca/fr/les-interventions/ En passant, je réalise que le stade était là seulement pour des fins représentatifs, mais je me demande si le terrain serait disponible ou pas selon le plan en cours.

Update from Michel Leblanc: http://www.rds.ca/baseball/mlb/un-signal-positif-1.1113400 Also - per a search on the Evenko website, there are no seats remaining (except singles) for the Saturday March 29 Mets-Jays game. The Friday night game is close to full, with the best available seats now in section 427. From our friends at Exposnation, some guidelines for those attending the games and who wish to support the Expos' cause: http://exposnation.com/regles-obligatoires-des-fans/ And finally, there are a number of other baseball events happening that weekend in Montreal: 1) The 1994 Expos Gala at Le Reine Elizabeth: http://montrealbaseballproject.com/en/event/2014-gala-dinner/ 2) Thursday, March 27th (7:30PM-8:30PM): Montreal-born and NY Times bestselling author Jonah Keri will be at the Apple Store on Ste-Catherine where the two will discuss Expos history with TSN690's Mitch Melnick. Jonah Keri was a huge Expos fan and is currently promoting his new book on the complete history of the Expos "Up, up and away". 3) Friday, March 28th (8:00AM-10:00AM): Montreal's Jewish Chamber of Commerce is hosting a panel discussion featuring Jonah Keri, Alex Anthopolous, Warren Cromartie, and Jay Howitz (long-time PR man for the NY Mets). Cost is $30 and includes breakfast. Event happening at Le Windsor (1170 Peel) and reservations can be made here: https://www.federationcja.org/en/event/registration/the-business-of-baseball-12091/ 4) Friday, March 28th (3:00PM) : McLean's Pub on Peel will be hosting a pre-game party that will include Ellis Valentine, Jonah Keri (book signing) and other special guests, on top of Annakin Slayd who is supposed to perform his Expos songs live. There will be a special Expos-themed menu. http://mcleanspub.com/expos/ 5) Sunday, March 30th (11:30AM): Exposnation is organizing a fan rally in the ballroom of the Marriott Chateau Champlain hotel. Admission is free. Special guests including former Expos players (quite a few), Felipe Alou, Annakin Slayd, and Jonah Keri will speak. http://exposnation.com/rassemblement-avec-des-anciens-joueurs-des-expos/ Enjoy!

http://www.lactualite.com/actualites/politique/lenvie-de-quitter-le-quebec/

Major rip in stadium roof (Dec. 28th). Repaired. http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2014/02/26/003-dechirure-toile-stade-olympique.shtml

Perhaps an equally important question to ask ourselves when we hear news stories like these: -- if 50% of anglo/allophones are considering leaving Quebec, how many outside of Quebec are considering moving in? If 50% of the people already settled are considering leaving, my guess is there aren't very many people out there tripping over themselves trying to move here. And that's not a good thing in a competitive environment. You can think "thinking about leaving is not the same as actually leaving" all you want... but if 50% of a population is thinking about it, how engaged are they? How proud are they? How motivated are they? You can't brush off that kind of feeling. It's indicative of a problem among the province's minorities, many of whom are very mobile... and if the government isn't looking out for minorities, then who is? Il y a des anglophones, comme moi, établit au Québec depuis des générations, qui se sont adaptés au fait francais et apprécie que le francais est la langue dominante de la province. Mais quand on entend le gouvernement expliquer que des employés dans les magasins (privés) sur la rue Ste-Catherine devraient césser de dire "Bonjour - Hi" a son clientele grandement bilingue... quel est le message? Ce n'est pas que je m'inquiete pour moi (personellement) de ne pas me faire servir en anglais chez Aldo (par exemple)... mais comment est-ce que ca peut être percu comme mauvais d'avoir des gens bilingue partout en ville? C'est simplement dommage que plus de villes en Amérique du Nord ne sont pas plus comme Montréal a ce regard.

Great video, thanks for posting. I’m all for re-investing in Olympic Stadium and helping it become a source of pride for Montrealers. However, the project has to make sense. The RIO claims they’re running a deficit because the stadium cannot be used throughout the year, however if it was… what would happen? Would it simply cannibalize events from Palais des Congres and Place Bonaventure? Or would it truly bring NEW spending/money to the city? How many shows could realistically occur between December and March that aren’t already taking place somewhere else in Montreal? If it comes down to spending $300 million on a new roof to allow for additional tradeshows and concerts vs. $300 million of public money to help build a new baseball stadium downtown/Griffintown (with an agreement for MLB baseball), then I think it’s a no-brainer. At $300 million at Olympic Stadium all you have is a new roof – so basically a safer version of what we have now. And the interior of the Stadium is just awful – it has barely been renovated at all in nearly 40 years and it really shows. We’re not talking paint and new tile to spruce it up to new standards, it would need a lot more than that. If we’re talking MLB in Montreal, forget Olympic Stadium. This is 2013, not 1980. So it’s a tough question – I don’t think the answer is to tear it down, but I don’t think the answer is to invest hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of NOT spending that money on new growth opportunities such as a MLB ballpark.

Per La Presse, Claridge and RBC were involved in financing part of the feasibility study: http://affaires.lapresse.ca/economie/quebec/201312/20/01-4722757-retour-des-expos-les-bronfman-et-la-rbc-ont-finance-letude.php

I think Montreal would be a good city for a Renaissance to open up. Many Renaissance properties are built in converted historic buildings, and there may be some opportunities for that in Montreal over the coming years. Some on here have been disappointed to see Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites/Courtyard-type hotels opening up. I think that disappointment is overdone. While the architectural contributions are limited, Montreal has a relative shortage of these types of hotels. There's not a single Hampton Inn or Homewood Suites downtown, and until recently there was no Courtyard (the one on Sherbrooke closed a few years back), and there is no Four Points Sheraton. While some point to Toronto's recent opening of Shangri-La and Ritz, let's also realize that Toronto had a shortage of such hotels and it was time for a few to open. While Montreal had its Ritz, and an existing Sofitel, W Hotel, and a Loews... Toronto was missing those brands. And 5 years ago Toronto saw a number of 3-star chain hotels open in its entertainment district with 10-12 storey Hilton Garden Inn (Peter St.), Residence Inn, etc. Montreal remains a strong hotel market and I think we'll see a 4+ or 5-star property in the coming couple of years, whether it's a Renaissance, Four Seasons, JW Marriott or Waldorf. Montreal also has a number of smaller high-end boutique hotels which until recently were few and far between in Toronto. The hotels that have closed were all at a crossroads of full-renovation vs. repurposing, and in most cases I think they made the right choice. For example, the bathrooms in those properties were all too small and the costs of renovating to bring them up to current standards would have an been unprofitable choice.

Marcel Côté, Montreal mayoral candidate, apparently wants to work towards bringing Major League Baseball back to Montreal and working with investors to make this happen. Reported by TVA. http://tvanouvelles.ca/lcn/infos/regional/montreal/archives/2013/09/20130911-161255.html

Tickets go on sale at evenko.ca at 10AM on Saturday... sounds like they'll start at $15.

Assuming it is indeed to announce the exhibition games, I hope the Jays' opponent will be a popular team like Boston or NYY... will only help ticket sales and create excitement around the event. I'll be there no matter what, even if I'm in no way a Jays fan... the idea of seeing Major League Baseball (in any form) in Montreal is exciting to me. If we can sell 30,000+ seats to each of these games (easier said than done for pre-season) it will only further the momentum of late with Expos Nation and Montreal Baseball Project.

This is likely to formally announce that the Blue Jays will play two exhibition games in Montreal at Olympic Stadium prior to the 2014 season. These games would be in late March. I'd heard rumblings of this being nearly official a few weeks ago... my guess is they're ready to announce it.

Peekay: I agree with you. It took me 5 years to even turn on a baseball game but eventually I was drawn back and now cheer for the Red Sox (AL) and Giants (NL)... it's a beautiful game. I will not be cheering for the Blue Jays on July 20, but am looking forward to taking in a game with over 200 fellow Expos fans. Jim Fanning is expected to sit among us. He was there last year at this event as well.

For those that may not already be aware, ExposNation (http://www.exposnation.com) is organizing a meet-up in Toronto on July 20th for the game between the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. So far over 200 tickets have been sold. Details are here: http://www.exposnation.com Tickets: http://www.bluejays.com/expos They've also organized some discounts on bus and VIA Rail to get people to the game. Should be a lot of fun...