There was the Olympic Stadium. An idea of grandeur that has made Montreal shine around the world. There was the new baseball stadium at Peel Basin. Project aborted at the same time as the potential arrival of a major league team. Today, there is this multifunctional stadium, making many fans salivate.
BMO Field in Toronto, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Lumen Field in Seattle. Four modern, state-of-the-art stadiums perfect for hosting soccer and football matches.
What if Montreal was also on this list? This is the question that various observers and commentators of the Montreal sports community are asking themselves. Ultimately, many would like to see MM. Péladeau and Saputo, respective owners of the Montreal Alouettes and CF Montreal, join forces and invest in a stadium that better meets the needs and expectations of today’s sports fans. In an ideal world, both teams would share the same facilities.
However, this stadium idea is closer to fiction than reality for the moment.
However, “all possibilities are being evaluated,” admitted CFM president Gabriel Gervais regarding his club’s future at Stade Saputo or elsewhere. “I said it when I took office that last year and this year are years to take a step back to better move forward afterwards. »
Same story with his Alouettes counterpart, Mark Weightman. “Never say never”, he warned all the same in the event of a common stadium.
The case of Sparrows is interesting, since the team does not own the home in which it operates. Indeed, the organization rents the Percival-Molson stadium to McGill University.
-
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Percival-Molson Stadium was built in the mid-1910s and is an integral part of the city’s landscape and heritage.
-
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Right in the heart of downtown and on the side of Mount Royal, the stadium has a unique and special character.
-
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
“Replicating the charm of this stadium and this site would be very difficult,” explained Alouettes President Mark Weightman.
1/3
The stadium has its flaws and it is legitimate to have a discussion around a new home, because “you can recognize that there is a need”, admits Weightman. ” [Mais] it is important to point out that the stadium we currently have, in the heart of downtown, on the side of Mount Royal, has a rather unique and special character. Then to reproduce the charm of this stadium and this site would be very difficult,” he added.
The stadium was built in the mid-1910s and is an integral part of the city’s landscape and heritage. Weightman wants to bet on this to convince Montrealers that the current stadium is still a favorite place to call home.
If I asked you which baseball stadiums would you most like to visit. Often, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are the first choices. I often compare the Percival-Molson stadium to these two stadiums. They are three hundred-year-old stadiums, but they all have this cachet and this something special. It’s impossible to recreate the cachet and experience of Fenway Park anywhere else. Here, it’s the same thing.
Mark Weightman, President of the Alouettes
Besides, evoking the idea of a brand new stadium is attractive, however, it would above all be necessary to find the appropriate place to build it. Currently, the lack of space is the biggest enemy of the project, as Weightman explains: “You could build the most beautiful stadium in the world, but if it is not placed in the right place, if it is not there’s nothing around before and after the match… It must be part of the equation. »
The compromise represented by the Percival-Molson stadium may be temporary, but in the meantime, it fulfills all the criteria for holding major events, according to the Alouettes’ president: “When you build a new stadium, you have to always think about the practical side, but also about the customer experience. This is where we always try to stand out. You just have to be careful not to underestimate the charm and location of the current site. »
-
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Saputo stadium, opened in 2008, is built on land belonging to the Olympic Park Development and Enhancement Corporation.
-
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
As a tenant, CF Montreal must pay annual and other taxes for the next 25 years.
-
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Any improvement to the Saputo stadium would mean a tax increase for CF Montreal.
1/3
Like the Alouettes, the CFM doesn’t quite rule its home. The Saputo stadium, opened in 2008, is certainly a property of the Saputo Group, but it was built on land belonging to the Société de développement et de mise envaluation du Parc Olympique, ceded by emphyteutic lease for a period of 40 years.
In theory, for the next 25 years, the tenant – in this case, the Bleu-blanc-noir – must pay annual and other taxes. So any improvement at the Saputo stadium would be synonymous with an increase in taxes.
The Citizen’s Guide to Self-Defense
Before embarking more concretely on a pharaonic project such as the construction of a multipurpose stadium, Romain Roult, professor and director of the department of leisure, culture and tourism studies at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, raised a few red flags.
We must be wary of certain big figures that promoters will put forward according to which helping them finance a stadium will generate economic benefits and local pride. It is true that there will be repercussions, but they will be very inflated.
Romain Roult, Professor and Director of the Department of Leisure, Culture and Tourism Studies at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
If public funds are used to build such a common stadium, Mr. Roult specified that “multifunctionality should be prioritized”.
“It shouldn’t just be limited to two sports,” he noted. It should rather be a public good in which we could segment the playing surface, say to receive other events which, themselves, could be public. »
A think about it.