Montreal fans, entrepreneurs explore bringing MLB Expos back to city

Bringing Major League Baseball (MLB) back to Montreal is an idea that has surfaced several times over the past decade.

Nearly 20 years after the Montreal Expos left for Washington, the prospect of bringing an MLB team back to the city is once again gaining traction, with discussions fueling the possibility.

Previous attempts included a high-profile effort led by local businessman Stephen Bronfman, which fell short after years of talks and stalled stadium plans.

But with MLB openly discussing future expansion and several North American cities positioning themselves, Montreal’s name has resurfaced and this time, with new players stepping forward.

Bronfman has long said he’s ready if the opportunity returns.

This week he reiterated his confidence, saying, “It will be a competitive process for whoever wins.”

He says sports matter in uncertain times, noting that, “If there are political uncertainty or things you don’t like, sports entertainment is where you can turn to for an escape.”

Some have asked why baseball and not basketball. Bronfman explained that MLB requires less investment, and that it’s too late for basketball.

“You invest in a stock when its down, not up,” he said.

The growing interest comes as fans continue to express support for a return of the Expos, calling the idea “a perfect rivalry in Canada.”

Meanwhile, other fans told Global News they want another team “the Blue Jays can beat down.”

Now, Montreal entrepreneur and WatchMojo founder Ash Karbasfrooshan is exploring the idea through an online survey, to gauge whether Montrealers still care about baseball.

In a post written by Karbasfrooshan, he said he created it to understand if fans care “or do they suffer from PTSD and moved on.”

According to his post, the response was overwhelmingly positive and “energized” him, with thousands of responses.

After he began discussing the idea as “exploratory research,” he said contacts in the finance world immediately reached out.

He says some private-equity investors are also showing interest.

Bronfman added he would be ready to invest, if things go well.

“Now I am in a position where not that I am going to write a cheque for billions of dollars, and I would invest, but I would basically be able to facilitate this and do the matchmaking.”

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However, both entrepreneurs are both aware of the major hurdles, including funding, a stadium site, broadcast rights and league approval.

“To be clear, we don’t want taxpayer money, because even I as a citizen don’t really think, when hospitals and schools are seeing budgets cut, we should go fund a baseball team,” Bronfman added.

He also believes Montreal could help MLB grow internationally.

“Quebec and Montreal give us a gateway to France, Switzerland, Belgium, African countries that speak French. And also because of WatchMojo’s audience, we have 8-9 million subscribers in Mexico.”

Global News reached out to MLB for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

“If MLB says we’re open to this then we can have a team, and I’m very confident of that,” Bronfman said.