Montreal Could Support Pro Baseball Again

The only thing holding Montreal back is a Major League Baseball's business structure that rewards those with deep pockets.

A new report says there's no good reason why Montreal couldn't support a professional baseball team again except for Major League Baseball's “uneven” playing field. The Montreal Expos, still beloved by many, left for Washington in 2004 due to ownership issues and plunging attendance. The Conference Board of Canada report says that Montreal has the population, passion, and corporate presence necessary to support a team, even if the city would probably need to build a new stadium to replace the decrepit Olympic Stadium. But the MLB's lack of a salary cap – it is the only major sports league in North America without one – makes it nearly impossible for small-market teams to remain competitive, and there would be few investors lining up to throw money behind a team that would most likely remain a loser for quite some time (not that losing has really hurt the Toronto Blue Jays too much, but we digress ... ).