The City of Montreal will not commit any public funds for the return of professional baseball to Montreal, reiterated the mayoress Valérie Plante on Tuesday morning, a few hours after a meeting with Stephen Bronfman.
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“The return of baseball to Montreal is a good idea, but Montreal will not be the promoter. We have already played in that film and we saw what it was like, ”recalled Ms. Plante in the press.
She also asks the Baseball Montreal Group to make a public update of the project in order to answer the many questions that still remain unanswered. “It’s their project, they want to put it forward, while they do it,” she said.
In his view, the current priorities for Montrealers are more housing and ecological transition.
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“Not Just a Baseball Stadium” – Stephen Bronfman
Showing pride and enthusiasm, businessman Stephen Bronfman wanted to be transparent on Tuesday in front of the media, following a meeting with the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante. Beyond the possible return of major league baseball to Montreal, he lifted the veil on his “activation project” for the Quebec metropolis.
QMI Agency
“It’s not just a baseball stadium, it’s a community center for Montreal. It will be active 12 months a year, we are talking about something magnificent that Montreal lacks, he said in particular, in an improvised press briefing when he left City Hall, which was relegated to social networks by journalist Jérémy Filosa, from radio station 98.5. It will bring something more to our city that we love so much. ”
Recently criticized for the financial assistance requested from various levels of government, Mr. Bronfman insisted that the project was not only related to baseball.
“We want to revive a neighborhood in Montreal where there isn’t much going on,” he said. We are proud, because it is not just a sports project. It’s a community project, an activation project. ”
The Baseball Montreal Group plans to provide more details in a possible press conference, but Mr. Bronfman ensures that the models are magnificent in the face of what is happening in the Peel Basin area.
“It gives you tears sometimes when I see the drawings”, even mentioned the businessman.
All together…
Mr. Bronfman said he was very confident that the project would see the light of day.
“Everyone recognizes that this is a very good project for Montreal, for Quebec and for Canada,” he added, “as to the progress of the meeting with Mayor Plante. We are all together, we all have the same vision, it’s a team game. “
“We did an update with the mayor, we wanted to give information and it was a very nice exchange,” said Bronfman, again noting the importance of being transparent. We’re not at a time when we can make big announcements, because our work is still going on, but it will be soon. ”
Protect taxpayers
At the other end of the spectrum, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CFC) took advantage of Tuesday to oppose the project again, claiming that the “part-time baseball team project” would be equivalent to the taxes of 54,000 Quebec taxpayers.
“We have a hard time believing that a billionaire’s stadium project is the best place to spend the tax dollars of 54,000 Quebeckers,” said the Quebec director of the FCC, Renaud Brossard. Especially when we consider the state of the health system and the fact that Quebecers are still the most taxed on the continent. ”
As Mr. Bronfman explained, the project would go well beyond baseball. The FCC is no doubt eagerly awaiting the famous upcoming Montreal Baseball Group press conference.