The eternal optimists, the ones who believe the return to Montreal of major league baseball is just a shore matter of time, are flapping their wings again–maybe with reason. Or maybe with eyes wide shut.
There was talk of the issue at this week’s All-Star game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Commissioner Bud Selig, who helped pull the plug on the team back in 2004 and move them to Washington, D.C. was asked about the possibility of a return to Montreal.
“I think they would be an excellent candidate in the future,” Mr. Selig said. “No question about it. That was very impressive.”
The what the which the commissioner was referring was the nearly 100,000 people who showed up for a pair of exhibition games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets at Olympic Stadium in March.
“They had two exhibition games. They drew 95,000 people,” Mr. Selig said. “They did very, very well. Very pleased and proud of what they have done.
“They have work to do, but I like–you know, I like what they are doing there, and I wish them well. They certainly have no hard feelings. I have friends there and I talk to a lot of people, and I wish them well. It’s a wonderful area, but they are helping themselves and I wish them well.”
Former Expo Warren Cromartie who is leading the drive to bring baseball back was more than pleased.
“This is great, I mean, what more we could ask for,” said Cromartie.
A feasibility study carried out last year for the Montreal Board of Trade and for Cromartie’s Montreal Baseball Project concluded that the return of Major League Baseball would be “financially viable under a set of realistic assumptions.”
These included a modest payroll and money from broadcasting rights similar to other baseball markets.
The study estimated that the cost of getting a new team would be over just $1 million–split almost evenly between acquiring a team and building a stadium.
For some perspective on the recent rumblings, Terry Haig spoke with Dave Kaufman. He is a Montreal talk show host and journalist.
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