“More than ever, Montreal is seen as a basketball city. »
So said Mayor Valérie Plante last September. The city council had just adopted a “declaration to underline the radiant practice of basketball in Montreal”. It is factually true. Montreal now has two professional teams, and never before have Montrealers reached the highest levels in such large numbers.
Now I challenge you. Take a walk in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough and find an outdoor basketball court. Not just a basket on its own, without a line or a net, in a padlocked schoolyard on weekends. A real basketball court, like in Rosemont, Côte-des-Neiges or Mont-Royal.
At Laurier Park? No.
At Baldwin Park? No.
In La Fontaine Park? No.
At Jeanne-Mance Park? No.
Somewhere in Mile End? Neither.
The answer: there is none. For how many citizens? 105,000 – more than in Granby, Drummondville, Saint-Jean or Brossard. This is not normal, deplores Louis-Pierre Poulin, an anesthesiologist passionate about basketball who settled in the neighborhood with his family a few years ago.
“We still have old prejudices about basketball, and about [les gens] land can attract, he explains. However, among the best programs in Quebec, we find them in Brébeuf and André-Grasset, two private colleges. In 2023, it’s time to change your mentality. »
“I believe in basketball as a tool for social intervention,” he continues. As a unifying element that saves lives, that creates a community, that helps young and old to find meaning in their daily lives. It’s more than hardware. It is spiritual. It’s social. It’s a mixture of emotions, battles, successes, failures, but which makes us move forward collectively as a society. »
This is why, seven years ago, he took steps with the administration of the mayor at the time, Denis Coderre, for the construction of land in the large parks. “There were promises of sets at La Fontaine Park,” he said. Then Denis Coderre’s party was ousted from power. That of Valérie Plante took over. New administration, new priorities. The pandemic followed. Louis-Pierre Poulin felt the project was losing traction.
He took over the ball during the winter, and started to pressure elected officials again, this time for the construction of two pitches. One in La Fontaine Park, the other in Jeanne-Mance Park. More than 1100 citizens have signed his petition. Among them, the host Guy A. Lepage, the singer Ariane Moffatt, the founder of the organization Pour 3 points, Fabrice Vil, as well as a bouquet of coaches and players of different levels. The petition was submitted to the borough council at the beginning of April.
Good news: the tectonic plates are moving.
Since the filing of the petition, two elected members of Projet Montréal – the party in power – have confirmed to me that two field projects are under study. They even guaranteed me that these two new pitches will be built within “two to three years”.
Or ?
One of them will be in Parc La Fontaine, in the heart of the borough. “There will be a new multi-sports ground where basketball will be played,” Caroline Bourgeois, responsible for large parks, sports and recreation at the City of Montreal, told me.
“It will be a full-fledged basketball court. We are working on that. There may be other sports practiced. Spaces like these, in some parks, there aren’t that many. The idea is to make them versatile […] But the orientation given is very clear, so that there is a basketball court. »
This area will be lit. The city wants it. “It is an important element. Sometimes, we have accessible land, but without lighting. These lands are only used during the day. However, we know that the needs, in the evening, are important. »
Construction is scheduled “in two to three years,” says Caroline Bourgeois. “There is a lot of work at Parc La Fontaine. We finished the Théâtre de Verdure. There, we finish everything that is around the aquatic pole. Then we can start [le terrain de basketball]. »
A second field will be built. However, it will not be in Jeanne-Mance Park, as the petitioners are asking. “This park is at the foot of Mount Royal,” explains Caroline Bourgeois. We want to preserve the green spaces that are there. Citizens want to convert some of the 12 tennis courts. But the rehabilitation of these lands has just been completed, in 2019. These lands are very popular. Significant investments have been made. Understand, here, that we won’t be converting new courts after only four years – and that we won’t be adding a basketball court anytime soon.
The other land will instead be built a 25-minute walk away, under the Van Horne overpass, at the northern limit of the borough. Let’s say that the view there is less inspiring than at the foot of the mountain. The site is more difficult to access, too. There is little risk that the project will fall victim to a “not in my backyard” movement, as I guess could be the case at Jeanne-Mance. This area of Mile End is sparsely populated.
“The work will be done in 2024,” assured me the borough councilor, Maeva Vilain. “We are in the process of drawing up the plans and specifications. Afterwards, we will launch the call for tenders. It is one of our priorities for 2024.” This area will also be lit. The project is estimated at 1 million, twice as much as at Parc La Fontaine. Mme Vilain was unable to explain to me why, or whether to decontaminate the land, which is on the site of the old Mile End train station.
Like Louis-Pierre Poulin, I believe that land in Jeanne-Mance, in the heart of the city, would be optimal. It is already a sports center, with volleyball, football/soccer, tennis and baseball courts. With the will, there is plenty of room to install a basketball court, near the tennis courts.
Afterwards, it must be recognized that two fields are better than zero. It is an excellent initiative. The City must continue to invest in new sports infrastructure, rather than razing land as it did at Parc Jeanne-Mance, where a baseball diamond was recently dismantled to be replaced by… nothing at all.