Prime Minister François Legault tried to rekindle a flickering flame on Monday, once again evoking the return of the Nordics.
• Read also: Bruno Marchand ready to “facilitate” the return of the Nordics, but will not invest
• Read also: Vaccination of children: Legault and Dubé will present their plan for 5 to 11 years old on Tuesday
Mr. Legault even compared the Quebec market to those of Ottawa and Winnipeg.
“I think that the people of Quebec, Eastern Quebec, would like to see the Nordiques again. I tell myself that if Ottawa and Winnipeg are able to have a team, we should be able to have one in Quebec. “
The embers are not completely extinct, but we will have to breathe again to warm the supporters in the capital.
After his statements last week, Mr. Legault added when he was questioned Monday about the return of the Nordiques, on the sidelines of his meeting with mayor Valérie Plante in Montreal.
His discussion with the NHL commissioner is not entirely recent. But is it serious? asked a colleague.
Complex file
“I spoke to Gary Bettman. It’s been a number of months. There is an arena, an amphitheater that was built in Quebec. Which is very beautiful, ”repeated François Legault.
The latter insisted on the importance of bringing together the winning conditions in this project. The first official groundbreaking ceremony for the Videotron Center took place over 9 years ago, in September 2012.
“There is a desire to have a team in Quebec. If we are able, Eric Girard and I, to put together the different blocks: the amphitheater, the investors. Obviously, there is the challenge of the two sports networks, be it RDS Bell and TVA Sports Quebecor. It is not easy to put all of this together, ”added the Prime Minister.
The Nordiques left Quebec for Colorado in May 1995 and the Videotron Center was inaugurated in 2015, after an investment of $ 370 million.
Since that time, Vegas and Seattle have obtained franchises.
The mayor “facilitator”
For his part, the mayor of Quebec is in agreement to act as a facilitator in the case of the return of the Nordics, but he does not intend to spend public funds in the company. “There is an amphitheater which is there and which waits,” he said.
Bruno Marchand considers that this is a file for which the mayor of Quebec “has a very limited role”. He will not hesitate to bring together businessmen interested in the project, but he will not commit funds from the City and he will not take action on his own either.
For his part, opposition leader Claude Villeneuve said he agreed with the mayor’s role of facilitator. However, he believes that the return of the Nordics is not on the list of citizens’ priorities.
“Me, I come out of 50 days of door to door and there is not a single door where I was told about the return of the Nordics. ”
City : 531,902 inhabitants
Agglomeration: 800,296 inhabitants
Median household income: $ 91,550
City : 934,243 inhabitants
Agglomeration: 1,323,783 inhabitants
Median household income: $ 86,451
City : 727,500 inhabitants
Agglomeration: 804,200 inhabitants
Median household income in Manitoba: $ 68,147
Source: Statistics Canada (2016)
The first release of the 2021 Census results is scheduled for February 9, 2022.