Montreal primed for NFL/MLB/MLS franchises

[DrFunk]

how is the olympic stadium far from the action ?! ... most NFL stadiums are located outside the downtown cores of their cities - in fact, so are most MLB stadiums too. by many standards, our own big O is very well located - that whole downtown BS is the lamest excuse in the book.

 

like i was saying before my initial post dissapeared, this news is old news and still when it first came out nobody talked about it in montreal's sports media. it's a no brainer that this city is big enough to host additional professionnal sports franchises, and yet it doesn't happen; not just that, look at the mls, who sought most of north america as potential markets and left out montreal, one of it's biggest cities. this in my opinion is a big clue as to what's fundamentaly ailing our city.

 

i also made a point about montreal getting an NBA team; while it's probably not the most obvious choice at first, it's alot cheaper to own & operate than an NFL or MLB franchise, the venue is already available (bell centre), and i have faith that a little clever marketting and a few games against the raptors to draw on that old toronto rivalry would be enough to spark interest in the team. again, that old "about 10 years away" argument isn't really valid, the raptors entered the league about 15 years ago and we were saying exactly that then. it's not a matter of "waiting for it" it's a matter of making it happen.

 

we would have another team for montrealers to identify with, another reason for pride, another source of entertainment for residents of this city. it would, alot more effectively than any mls or nhl team, put montreal back on the sports map for americans and perhaps even help stop our competing hockey team take it's fan base for granted.

 

now .. let's see if this post sticks.

 

Well everyone has their own opinion on the current location of the Olympic Stadium. My self, I say it's far from the action because it's a hella long way from NDG, where I reside. Also, since alot of the fans would be english Montrealers who reside around this area, it'd be a pain in the arse to make it to the game.

 

So, since we'd have to build a new stadium, (let's be honest here, the inside of the Olympic Stadium is the worst of all the professional sports teams stadiums in North America and it'd cost almost just as much to completely renovate it then build a new stadium), I think we can agree that around the downtown area would be a much much more strategic spot then the area of the current Olympic Stadium.

 

Finally, for the NBA franchise, I'd love to see it happen but I don't see how we're going to fill the Bell Centre. We'd need a minimum of 15 000 per game to survive... Look at what happened to the Vancouver Grizzlies...

[Habsfan]

Selon cette étude, Montréal serait mieux "préparée" que Toronto pour accueillir une équipe de la NFL...

 

 

La seule et unique raison pour ça c'est que le Skydome à Toronto peut acceuillir seulement 54,000 personnes, et c'est trop petit pour la NFL. Tandis que la Stade Olympique pourrait acceuillir 70,000 personnes! Il n'y a aucuns doutes que la NFL à Montréal serait un gros succès. Juste les revenus de TV garantiraient le succès de la franchise!

 

LA MLS à MOntréal n'est qu'une question de temps. J'ai parlé avec J. Saputo à propos de ça à quelques reprises, et il m'a dit que ce n'est pas une question de si, mais quand! 2012 semble être la date prévue!

 

Le Basketball ne marcherait pas à Montréal. Il n'y a tout simplement opas d'intérêt pour ce sport au Québec

[MTLskyline]

You win for most ironic post of the week.

I think I may have won that award before?

 

Soccer... I can't stand the lack of scoring. At least the foreign commentators can make it seem interesting sometimes...

Need I say more? : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noOHdTQd6H8

 

Basketball just doesn't interest me. At least there is lots of scoring, unlike Soccer. That being said, I do like the Harlem Globetrotters. Juvenile, I know...

 

Football has way too many stoppages in play. The whistle is blown about every 20 seconds. It's ridiculous. Occasionally there is a really good/exciting play, but for the most part it is advancing 10 feet at a time and then another whistle/stoppage.

 

Baseball on the other hand is all about strategy. Should a pitcher use a curveball or a fastball? Should a batter pull the ball or spray it? Should a runner steal second on a 2-2 count? If you pay attention to what's going on (or the opposite, you have a lot of beer) you'll find it to be among the most interesting/entertaining of sports. If you are sober, but either don't know what's going on, or are only half interested, then yes you may find it boring.

 

But that's my opinion, I don't expect everyone will necessarily agree with me.

[JFrosty]

I don't have anything against baseball. Sure, it's far from being my favorite sport, but I went to my share of Expos games in my youth. And I still have my tickets.

[pedepy]

Well everyone has their own opinion on the current location of the Olympic Stadium. My self, I say it's far from the action because it's a hella long way from NDG, where I reside. Also, since alot of the fans would be english Montrealers who reside around this area, it'd be a pain in the arse to make it to the game.

 

So, since we'd have to build a new stadium, (let's be honest here, the inside of the Olympic Stadium is the worst of all the professional sports teams stadiums in North America and it'd cost almost just as much to completely renovate it then build a new stadium), I think we can agree that around the downtown area would be a much much more strategic spot then the area of the current Olympic Stadium.

 

Finally, for the NBA franchise, I'd love to see it happen but I don't see how we're going to fill the Bell Centre. We'd need a minimum of 15 000 per game to survive... Look at what happened to the Vancouver Grizzlies...

 

i don;t think the olympic stadium is the worst .. it's certain in need of a little tlc but other than that it's not that bad. most baseball venues i've visited we'rent much prettier, except of course they were open and didnt have roofs on them. taking off that horrible plastic p.o.s. would go a long way in restoring some warmth in that building.

 

 

and about filling the bell center, here's a shot of my recent visit to a miami heat game:

 

 

this is during the game, by the way. i took it specifically to show it to you guys, in case that topic ever came up. and although i concede alot of those empty seats are probably sold, i don't think it's impossible to achieve in montreal also.

 

to think that a city of two million, with an urban are of close to 4 and even more if you factor in anyone who's within an hour's drive of here and would no doubt constitute the fan base of that franchise, thinking that you can't get 15000 a game is downright pessimistic.

[Maisonneuve]

i don;t think the olympic stadium is the worst .. it's certain in need of a little tlc but other than that it's not that bad. most baseball venues i've visited we'rent much prettier, except of course they were open and didnt have roofs on them. taking off that horrible plastic p.o.s. would go a long way in restoring some warmth in that building.

 

 

and about filling the bell center, here's a shot of my recent visit to a miami heat game:

 

 

this is during the game, by the way. i took it specifically to show it to you guys, in case that topic ever came up. and although i concede alot of those empty seats are probably sold, i don't think it's impossible to achieve in montreal also.

 

to think that a city of two million, with an urban are of close to 4 and even more if you factor in anyone who's within an hour's drive of here and would no doubt constitute the fan base of that franchise, thinking that you can't get 15000 a game is downright pessimistic.

 

Montreal could do better than that, especially is if the tickets get linked with the Habs tickets.

[Maisonneuve]

I don't have anything against baseball. Sure, it's far from being my favorite sport, but I went to my share of Expos games in my youth. And I still have my tickets.

 

I still have mine too.

[Maisonneuve]

how is the olympic stadium far from the action ?! ... most NFL stadiums are located outside the downtown cores of their cities - in fact, so are most MLB stadiums too. by many standards, our own big O is very well located - that whole downtown BS is the lamest excuse in the book.

 

like i was saying before my initial post dissapeared, this news is old news and still when it first came out nobody talked about it in montreal's sports media. it's a no brainer that this city is big enough to host additional professionnal sports franchises, and yet it doesn't happen; not just that, look at the mls, who sought most of north america as potential markets and left out montreal, one of it's biggest cities. this in my opinion is a big clue as to what's fundamentaly ailing our city.

 

we would have another team for montrealers to identify with, another reason for pride, another source of entertainment for residents of this city. it would, alot more effectively than any mls or nhl team, put montreal back on the sports map for americans and perhaps even help stop our competing hockey team take it's fan base for granted.

 

now .. let's see if this post sticks.

 

These things happen quickly sometimes. Montreal got overlooked for MLS because they would not pay the overpriced expansion fee (pre-Beckham departure) and then suddenly wanted Montreal (post-Beckham departure and recession). For all we know, TVA Sports might be a ploy by Quebecor to buy a NBA, MLB or NFL team and bring them to Montreal. They won't have the Canadiens or the Senators, so there has to be more behind TVA Sports than just showing the Reds vs. the Astros in French with two guys in a studio.

[Ornello Mastrocola]

As much as I adore baseball and have played in the Quebec amateur level, I would not want baseball back in this town. We would not be able to support it with all the primadonna's out there demanding the moon... Baseball needs a "HARD" salary cap.

Toronto will definitely have their NFL team because they have heavy interests from local investors, Montreal has none. Our local Millionaires are not interested in shelling their dollars in a money pit.

[Habsfan]

These things happen quickly sometimes. Montreal got overlooked for MLS because they would not pay the overpriced expansion fee (pre-Beckham departure) and then suddenly wanted Montreal (post-Beckham departure and recession). For all we know, TVA Sports might be a ploy by Quebecor to buy a NBA, MLB or NFL team and bring them to Montreal. They won't have the Canadiens or the Senators, so there has to be more behind TVA Sports than just showing the Reds vs. the Astros in French with two guys in a studio.

 

 

You might be onto something Maisonneuve. They might get MLS from SRC when the Impact move to the league. As far as TVA pushing for a Montreal team in the NBA or NFL, I doubt it. We have not heard anything of the sorts, and usualyy there are rumours about these things!