Sources: Rays to explore playing in Montreal

[Splitter24]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...aying-montreal

the Rays have embraced the two-city solution as the most feasible to saving baseball in the Tampa Bay area after years of failed attempts to build a new stadium in the region

Under the plan, the Rays would play in new stadiums in both the Tampa Bay area and Montreal

[TheMaus2]

that would be stressful and unappealing for both cities and the players of those teams. I hope its just exploration/experimentation

Then again, maybe its a flex to play in two cities. Spend the summer in montreal and enjoy warmer climes in Tampa in the fall? sounds kinda like having a vacation hom

[Boomcoach]

Change the name to the Tampa Snow Birds?

[rudel.dietrich]

So many other cities other than Montreal could be tried.
Charlotte, Portland, Las Vegas, Nashville, Austin, San Antonio.

Moving a franchise is expensive. Why is one that failed to support one on the list?

[dancariaz]

This has to the most stupid baseball related thing I heard in my life. By a country mile.

I guess the plan is to slowly let the Tampa fanbase die so they can move to Montreal full time without any questions asked like 3 years later?

[Buster Cherry]

Originally Posted by dancariaz

This has to the most stupid baseball related thing I heard in my life. By a country mile.

I guess the plan is to slowly let the Tampa fanbase die so they can move to Montreal full time without any questions asked like 3 years later?

Tampa Bay has a fanbase? Who knew? The only times they have decent crowds are when the Noo Yawk Yankees and Bahstan Red Sawks play in Tampa and all the retirees in the Tampa Bay area from Noo Yawk and Bahstan flock to the games.

[Cobra Mgr]

When a team sucks, a franchise can't complain too loudly about poor attendance. When they win 90 one year, follow it up w/a serious playoff push, yet still can't draw, then the team has a right to complain.

Rays have blamed the stadium for poor attendance. But it is probably time to recognize Tampa isn't a MLB city. This splitting w/Montreal is like a wife openly letting another man flirt with her in front of her husband. She is letting him know others find her attractive and she could leave if he doesn't show her the appreciation she thinks she deserves. Tampa has started the countdown clock for Tampa, Montreal, and any other city that wants in on a MLB team. Tampa can show up, offer a ballpark or the Rays will start shopping themselves around.

In Tampa's defense, they only need to look @ the only team south of them to be hesitant to pony up city dollars for a welfare stadium. Just because you build a state of the art building for a billion dollar business doesn't mean the owner of that biz is going to be competent or willing to invest in a winner. If I was a civic leader, I would need some assurances on legal documents from any team before I'd greenlight taxes being given to a billionaire.

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

So many other cities other than Montreal could be tried.
Charlotte, Portland, Las Vegas, Nashville, Austin, San Antonio.

Moving a franchise is expensive. Why is one that failed to support one on the list?

Montreal's sh*tbag owner Jeffrey Loria systematically destroyed the franchise to force a move to DC. Montreal supported the Expos just fine before that asswipe bought the team.

[Leo_The_Lip]

We should prepare for more 'split-city' or 'regional' franchises in the future. Teams like the old Virginia Squires that split home games between Roanoke, Richmond and Hampton Roads.

Montreal in April or September (to say nothing of October and November) is still snow time. So why not have those games in the land of Spring Training?

Baseball is particularly weather sensitive, so why not have more pairings like this? New Orleans is a quasi-big league city, why not pair it up with one of the Ohio teams? San Diego is not much of a sports town, so why not pair it with another rust belt club?

this is actually too good of an idea to happen soon.

[dkgo]

Originally Posted by Boomcoach

Change the name to the Tampa Snow Birds?

Tampontreal

[Kronos]

This plan will come to pass in a few years, but it will be the Marlins playing half their games in Tampa and the other half in Miami.

[rink23]

Spring training 2018, I attended a Cardinals-Nationals game in West Palm Beach.

Sat next to two men in their 60s or older wearing Expos hats and speaking with French accents.
Got talking to them, and both seemed fairly confident that some time in the next few years, the Tampa Bay Rays would be moving north of the border.
Stadium plans and location are mostly decided upon, all they are waiting on is the go-ahead from MLB that they will have a team to play there.

A few days later, I attended opening day between the Red Sox and Rays at the Trop.
Crowd of 36,000, they were so proud -- even though more than half were Red Sox fan and a big chunk of the upper deck was tarpped over -- even though being from St. Louis 36,000 is considered an off night. (Although, our numbers are slowly dwindling).
Anyway, talked with a number of veteran Rays fans about what I had heard, and they conceded they feared things were heading in that direction.
Not only has Tampa not embraced baseball and the Trop is a dump but the city officials of Tampa and St. Petersburg despise each other and refuse to work together on anything.
My guess, this plan comes to fruition. Montreal embraces the Rays, Tampa continues to be indifferent.
And within a few years, Viola, we have the return of the Expos.

[Leo_The_Lip]

I'm looking forward to the ExRays coming to a stadium not particularly near me sometime soon.