Baseball stadium in Montreal | Reactions to the editorial “A grant at zero cost: are you kidding?” “

Stéphanie Grammond’s editorial on the idea of ​​offering “a subsidy at zero cost” for the return of baseball to Montreal did not fail to make our readers react, almost unanimous. Here is an overview of the emails received.

Let the billionaires fend for themselves

I completely agree with you: let’s use taxpayers’ money in the health and infrastructure sectors. It’s up to billionaires to fend for themselves. If they are so convinced that this return of baseball to Montreal will pay off, it is up to them to invest and not to us to pay.

Philippe Leblanc, Verdun

Electoralism

At the moment, the Legault government is largely in electoralism (third link, return of the Nordics and half-time baseball to Montreal…). In addition, to justify itself, it serves the population with “accounting” arguments that do not hold water and it is downright shameful. Meanwhile, meals in some CHSLDs are inedible, emergencies are closed, tiles fall on the heads of students and Quebec is poor in the fight against climate change. And what exactly is this government’s social project? Worst of all: the CAQ leads in the polls and by many.

Martin Lalonde, Rosemere

Yes, but as a shareholder

If our dear government invests 300 million in this project, it should be as a shareholder, just like other businessmen and women. When they want the government to step down, they will buy back the shares at the current price and all Quebecers will reap the benefits.

Claude Fortin, Abitibi-Témiscamingue

Baseball or our votes

If the government gives or lends a dime to the multi-millionaires in baseball, it will not get my vote or the votes of my family.

Michelle bachand

Benefits not to be overlooked

I have a quick question for the ardent defenders and amateur managers of the state coffers: have health management, education and road maintenance been doing better since the start of the Expos? Stop playing primary politics using professional sport as a deadweight. Go ask the former traders around the old Forum if the Canadian had an impact on their income. I’m a baseball fan who isn’t ready to throw money away, but you have to be honest about it.

Pierre Latreille

Indecent

Strongly agree that baseball is not the priority, and everything comes at a cost. Indecent, with all the current social problems, even daring to think of using our money to meet the priorities of multimillionaires who dare to negotiate not with banks, but from our taxes! Thank you for reporting it.

Marie Dallaire

The stuffing turkey

Frankly, this whole thing irritates me as much as possible. We should seriously stop behaving like a joke, our money deserves to be invested in essential things, such as health and education. A mock baseball team in which few people will develop a sense of pride, that’s no!

Nathalie Lagueux

In education!

I totally agree with a zero-cost grant provided it is done in education!

Maurice Jean, Morin-Heights

An unused stadium

We have an Olympic stadium that has been unused for years, in fact since the days of the Expos. To help make a future club profitable, let us rent them this stadium for 25 years. There, it will be really at zero cost.

Luc Pouliot

Beyond our means

I am a very non-militant person. But now, if the government puts a penny in subsidy for the construction of a baseball stadium, I’m ready to take out my sign and go protest. Quebec does not have the means to pay for this …

Renée-Claude Tremblay

A wacky project

I have been a baseball fan since I was young. Your editorial on the subject reveals in all its simplicity how this project is wacky and already smoky in the false political argument. The CAQ has never been part of my political path, but I believe that it has managed the hard epidemic ordeal of Quebecers admirably well. But everything suggests that it is making potatoes in other sectors of Quebec governance. Mr. Legault likes big salaries, but there is a limit to this ambition if it only targets a few individuals who play millionaire sports. We must prioritize our needs and God knows how numerous and essential they are for a large part of the population who suffer from their living conditions. I already imagined giving my vote to the CAQ for the first time next year, but its tunnel in Quebec and this baseball stadium in Montreal put my intentions on the ice. I was discussing it with friends and neighbors who also question their vote for the CAQ in the next election.

Jacque Beaudry

Protect yourself from risks

To calculate the profitability of an investment, we take the initial cost, add the income / losses from years of operation and add the value of the investment at the end (the resale value). That gives a figure, 15%, 20%, 30% …

In the case of a baseball stadium, the problem is that the resale value of the stadium at the end is zero which lowers the return on investment. You can sell the baseball club at a profit, but not the stadium. No one will want your baseball stadium without a team even though it is the Eighth Wonder of the World. That’s why we’re always looking for someone else to fund the stadium. No investor will want to embark on the stadium project except … the government, and only if the political benefit is there. In English, there is the expression What’s in it for me? (“What can I gain from it?”).

In the case of the government, it must be managed as an investment. So they have to create value at the end of the adventure and protect themselves from the risks of seeing the team leave. Having a stake as a shareholder in the team and remaining the owner of the land in the city center is a good way to cover your risk.

Serge Charron, Lachine