Yukon Joe
Registered User
Never is a long time.
In 1996 I would have said "Winnipeg is never getting an NHL team again" - and I was wrong.
But yes - significant obstacles remain.
Quebec City trying to keep the flame alive
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Never is a long time.
In 1996 I would have said "Winnipeg is never getting an NHL team again" - and I was wrong.
But yes - significant obstacles remain.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
I'd bet on the NBA coming to Montreal before MLB comes back.
The city itself is 1.8 million and the metro area is 4.3. If they were in the US, they'd have a team in every sport. It's bigger than the vast majority of American pro markets and its got massive cultural clout to boot.
The city itself is 1.8 million and the metro area is 4.3. If they were in the US, they'd have a team in every sport. It's bigger than the vast majority of American pro markets and its got massive cultural clout to boot.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
I think MLB will return to Montreal at some point. But much like QC's desire for the NHL's return, they need someone who wants a team, who's willing to pay the expansion fee, and who will build a stadium. QC has their arena, so that's one step done.
The NBA could certainly see expansion to MTL too, but I know next to nothing about how popular basketball is in the area. There's also the question of how amenable the Habs would be to sharing their building with a NBA team, or if they'll have to go build their own.
Basketball is pretty popular in Montreal for a place that doesn't have an NBA team. They have a couple of pro-teams in smaller leagues. There are a couple of guys in the NBA from there. The one issue you would have is guys wanting to play there. It took a long time for guys to get comfortable with Toronto, I think it would be hard to get them comfortable with Montreal which has gotten more French over the last few years. When I would go there as a kid it was very much a bilingual city. I was just there this past weekend and all its French first now.
Yukon Joe
Registered User
Montreal is sinking a billion dollars into Olympic Stadium though - I very much doubt they'll turn around and then build a proper outdoor baseball stadium.
Clarification. They are sinking a billion dollars into the roof. They are not touching the interior, which is in equally bad shape and outdated. The politicians want the renovations, not the people, or the sports teams that could use it.
Yukon Joe
Registered User
Clarification accepted - but the point still stands. After the politicians sink a billion dollars into the roof of Olympic Stadium, I very much doubt they'll spend a dime to build an outdoor stadium.
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
Montreal and baseball is a dead horse, like Quebec and hockey, and everyone outside Canada knows this. Montreal and basketball however is something you can't rule out, time is on the NBA's side on that front.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
If you mean outside of Montreal maybe but the city itself is still very much bilingual. I live in the Plateau and hear English left and right despite the borough having a ton of expats from France. Let alone if you head to Old Montreal, downtown, West Mount, etc and other heavily English areas in other portions of the island.
With that said, I think that stuff tends to get overrated when you're dealing with pro athletes and the life they live. These aren't average joes working desk jobs.
A Montreal-Toronto hoops rivalry would be awesome. I think the NBA might prefer another shot at Vancouver. But if they expand past Seattle and Vegas, they might need more inventory out East?
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
Takuto Maruki
Ideal and the real
Actual data to go on when it comes to feasibility, even if it is two decades old by this point. A greater chance of attracting someone with pockets (local or otherwise) considering the money that already flies through the city. Natural rivalries with Portland / Seattle when the NBA gets to it, mirroring natural Cascadia rivalry in MLS.
Don't get me wrong, Vancouver is low down the totem pole in terms of expansion options for the NBA, especially considering Vegas is an effective lock, and Seattle is more or less waiting in the wings after that. But if there's one market that is most likely to get an NBA team in Canada it'll probably be Vancouver.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
You lost me at 'two decades old'. That would put us at 2004 lol.
Does more sports money go through Vancouver than Montreal though? I don't know, it's way smaller, not as international/prestigious, Montreal could also foster rivalries with the classic Northeast teams like Boston, New York and Toronto. Montreal has the arena and interested parties who have already made their interest to the NBA known.
I'm really not convinced and even looking online, I don't see the argument for it. It has nothing that Montreal doesn't have and lacks in areas that Montreal has over it, such as global appeal (especially its European roots) and size of the market.
Like how does Vancouver have a 'higher chance' of attracting someone with money when Molson and other big pockets in the city have already stated their interest? I'm not even trying to diss Vancouver, it's great. But there's nothing jumping out at me where it's not 'Montreal either also has that and more.'
ok maybe it was an anomaly because every store I was in the staff started the conversations in French and all the signs (even in WalMart) were in French only.
Well Vancouver had a team before and the NBA has expressed regrets on pulling the plug too quickly. The owners of the Canucks have expressed interest in the past. Also, there can have rivalries with West Coast teams just as easily as Montreal can have with Northeast teams. As far as an international prestige goes both cities have hosted an Olympics at one point. It will come down to geographic preference. Does the NBA want two Western teams or West and East?
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
Outside of boroughs like Westmount (and maybe areas like West Island?) most non-federal signs will be in French, yes. In terms of commerce, you'll often hear Bonjour/Hi as a greeting. But even what you're describing strikes me as absurdly minor.
My wife is from Ontario and has been living in Montreal for a decade. She only speaks a little French. If someone says Bonjour when she walks into a store and she answers back in English, the employee just goes to English. It's like me getting greeted in Dutch in Amsterdam and then speaking English. It's nothing.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
I don't think 'regret' would come into much of anything for decision-making when it comes to expansion. Montreal also has multiple people who have directly reached out to the NBA (as confirmed by Silver) and Molson also expressed interest in basketball in years past.
By the way, I'm not strictly talking about sports when it comes to both cities (and even so, uh, Montreal also holds stuff like the Grand Prix?) but just generally. Montreal is both a far bigger market in terms of people, the city itself has far more international renown than Vancouver when it comes to general culture (art, politics, multiculturalism, history, technology, etc.). It's just more massive in every way. To me, it's a no-brainer. I don't see a single advantage that Vancouver has over Montreal. What does Vancouver have that Montreal does not?
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Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
By and large Montreal is just like any other northeastern metropolis. Do you think you stepped on a different planet in the city? And if you think English isn't widely spoken in Montreal, bless your soul.
Yes they speak English there’s also language politics that’s they don’t want to deal with.
Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
How would that remotely affect a professional athlete playing basketball? It doesn't affect Habs players and it didn't Expos players for that matter.
I agree with you Montreal should get an nba and an mlb team . I don’t agree with the sentiment just looking at it from the leagues perspective.
The language politics wouldn't be as big an issue if they were in Montreal compared to a place like Quebec City. I just don't personally see the NBA coming here for the simple reason that if what we've seen from the majority of ignorant Basketball players about a New York light English speaking city like Toronto simply because it's in Canada, heaven knows what they'd say/believe about Montreal,
Baseball is a different story because of how diverse it is already and how little players have in terms of control over their own destiny. I don't think they're coming here either but it would be more doable from an on field perspective in baseball than it would be basketball.
For all the people and money there is here, it's a very "poor" mentality that exists I find.
Baseball is a different story because of how diverse it is already and how little players have in terms of control over their own destiny. I don't think they're coming here either but it would be more doable from an on field perspective in baseball than it would be basketball.
For all the people and money there is here, it's a very "poor" mentality that exists I find.
Dynamite Kid
Registered User
- Jun 26, 2018
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