WWTBAM Bored

One of my pet peeves is how sports teams (owned by folks who do have money of their own) manage to coerce a new stadium out of a municipality under threat of the team relocating.

Now the Tampa Bay Rays are taking a totally new approach -- they want the Tampa area to build a new open-air stadium for them, and they'll still relocate ... sorta, kinda.

https://stpetecatalyst.com/theres-not-a ... -montreal/

At the same time, they're trying to get a new stadium built in Montreal, with the idea that the team would split its games between the two cities.

So, the deal is "build us a stadium, but only have about half of the games" (which no one is going to now, based upon attendance numbers). And Montreal should know better, they've just finished paying off that monstrosity of a stadium from the 1976 Olympics about five years ago, not counting ongoing maintenance. (I'm not sure what it's used for anymore, since the CFL Alouettes play at Molson Stadium at McGill Uuniversity.)

As they would say in Quebec, "c'est incroyable!"

Spiff wrote:

So, the deal is "build us a stadium, but only have about half of the games" (which no one is going to now, based upon attendance numbers). And Montreal should know better, they've just finished paying off that monstrosity of a stadium from the 1976 Olympics about five years ago, not counting ongoing maintenance. (I'm not sure what it's used for anymore, since the CFL Alouettes play at Molson Stadium at McGill Uuniversity.)

The citizens of Colorado, under the leadership of Dick Lamm, saw what was happening in Montreal, the corruption that was lining the wrong pockets, the unreal debt, and the environmental damage, and they put up a proposed amendment to Colorado's too easily amended constitution. It passed 60-40, and it pretty much guaranteed that Colorado would never again have a chance to host an Olympics. Then Ueberroth came along and showed the world how to make a profit with the 1984 Olympics, but oh well, that was Tinseltown. The environmental damage would still make me vote for any measure that would keep the Olympics away.

SportsFan68 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:28 pm

Spiff wrote:

So, the deal is "build us a stadium, but only have about half of the games" (which no one is going to now, based upon attendance numbers). And Montreal should know better, they've just finished paying off that monstrosity of a stadium from the 1976 Olympics about five years ago, not counting ongoing maintenance. (I'm not sure what it's used for anymore, since the CFL Alouettes play at Molson Stadium at McGill Uuniversity.)

The citizens of Colorado, under the leadership of Dick Lamm, saw what was happening in Montreal, the corruption that was lining the wrong pockets, the unreal debt, and the environmental damage, and they put up a proposed amendment to Colorado's too easily amended constitution. It passed 60-40, and it pretty much guaranteed that Colorado would never again have a chance to host an Olympics. Then Ueberroth came along and showed the world how to make a profit with the 1984 Olympics, but oh well, that was Tinseltown. The environmental damage would still make me vote for any measure that would keep the Olympics away.

They took many steps in the right direction in Tokyo, but still have a way to go:

Even With Cardboard Beds And Recycled Medals, Olympics Take Flak Over The Environment

A Greener Games? Tokyo's Environmental Impact

MLB rejects plan for Rays to split time between Tampa and Montreal

The Rays were dealt a major blow Tuesday when MLB rejected its plan to split time between Tampa and Montreal, a project that had been in the works for over two years. Per beat reporter Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays were “stunned” by this decision, anticipating their “split city” proposal would be approved by both the players’ union and MLB.

The Rays had envisioned building open air-stadiums in both cities, but Tuesday’s ruling obviously throws a major wrench in that plan. Without backing from commissioner Rob Manfred, the Rays are left to ponder their future in Tampa with their lease due to expire after 2027. That leaves the Rays little time to approve a new stadium, with development plans needing to be in place by the start of next year to ensure it would be ready for the start of 2028. Despite Tuesday’s setback, principal owner Stuart Sternberg insists he has no plans to sell his controlling stake in the team.

https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red- ... d-montreal