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Originally Posted by thenoflyzone
I know the data supports Montreal having a second pro sports team, but I feel as though Montreal getting a MLB team is akin to Quebec City getting an NHL franchise.
Both might struggle in the long haul, similar to the issues that are arising in Winnipeg now, with their ticket sales slowing down. At least with QC, the arena is already built, whereas Montreal would need to build a new stadium to accommodate a MLB team.
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Montreal actually had three pro sports teams, the Canadiens in the NHL, the Alouettes in the CFL, and the old Expos for MLB, now the Washington Nationals. I agree that the NBA should look into placing another Canadian team in Canada and Montreal, being the second largest media market in Canada, makes a lot of sense if the NBA wants to further expand. Tony Parker is French, which would've helped basketball in French-speaking areas and I can't understand why the NBA didn't expand to Montreal as opposed to Vancouver, since Toronto and Montreal are the two biggest media markets in Canada.
Quebec looks like it can support a professional sports team. I don't know how the CFL does it when it comes to expanding teams, but I do recall that the CFL does have 9 football teams in the league. I'd like to see the CFL expand to 12 teams, with franchises in Quebec, Halifax, and Windsor (yes, even Windsor needs a pro team).
I'm not sure what are the qualifications are for maintaining a CFL team, but the CFL players don't really make the same amount of money as the ones in the NFL, and the TV contract isn't as lucrative as the NFL, so I don't understand why the CFL hasn't even considered expanding into 10 or even 12 teams.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thenoflyzone
Also, some might argue Montreal already has a second pro sports team, FC Montreal. Yes, even though the MLS is far behind the status the big 4 command, it is nonetheless a league on the rise, is becoming pretty influential, and is one that shouldn't be discarded (Heck, Messi's contract is up in a few months, and he has hinted that a move to the MLS might happen). if you plug in the cities with an MLS franchise in that list of yours, you'll see Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are topped up just fine.
Therefore, my vote goes to QC getting the Nordiques back. Besides, as the US article you linked says, Denver has too many sports teams. The Av's should come back home !
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Denver earned the right to be a four-sport town, and the Ave aren't going anywhere, although I still feel for the old Nordiques who had to move from Quebec to Denver just to be a major contender.
The MLS isn't there with the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL because soccer just isn't a huge sport in North America the way it is in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The MLS started coming into existence in 1996 and rightfully so, it's number five in America compared to football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. In Canada, hockey will take first place, but America is a tough act to follow because soccer isn't a violent sport like football, or a fast paced sport like basketball, or a sport of power and skill like baseball, and not as graceful and gritty like hockey. Soccer is going to have to wait it's turn if it's going to come into the American conscience.
It took the NFL forty years to replace baseball as America's pastime, and basketball, although it never replaced the NFL as the number one sport her in America, reached out to the international fanbase instead, which is why the NBA is much bigger worldwide than the NFL. Hockey is very popular in Russia and Sweden, or where winter sports is very popular. Soccer has to wait it's turn in order to enter the American conscience, that's all.