G20 summit forces Toronto Blue Jays to Philadelphia; Why not go to Montréal?

Make the Phillies come to Canada.

The fact that the 3-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies is being moved away from Toronto is not a surprise. The series had been threatened by the influx — very nearby — of the G20 summit and the protesters that usually come along.

The series — which would have been the homecoming for former Toronto pitching ace Roy Halladay — will now be played in Philadelphia.

The Blue Jays lose the home dates, but will bat last and have the DH in the "home" game in Philadelphia. The Pirates played while the G20 was in Pittsburgh, but the location of the summit was further away from the ballpark.

The G20 summit is on June 26-27 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The stadium is within an "outer security zone" surrounding the convention center. Fans would have had a harder time getting to the game.

For all the hoopla about what should happen to these games, the one logical place to play was completely ignored: Olympic Stadium in Montréal.

Olympic Stadium was home to the Montréal Expos from 1977 to 2004. This way, Blue Jays fans would have had an easier time getting to the game. Trains and buses run regularly to Montréal (as well as planes) and passports wouldn't have been an issue.

Now if you are a Blue Jays fan, you have to fly, deal with U.S. customs, all for a "home' series. So the Blue Jays will play three "home" games in front of hostile fans, and the Phillies get three extra home games. With my solution, the Blue Jays stay in Canada and the Phillies have to come to Canada.

You could see a healthy crowd in Montréal from those fans that truly missed seeing baseball in the Olympic city. This would have shown Bud Selig and the rest of the MLB honchos that they made a mistake taking away baseball from Montréal.

Comments

[Regina]

Interesting idea in theory, but not a simple or practical solution as you think. Olympic Stadium has been shut down for decades, right? It would take months, even years, to get it into playing shape, so to speak. It's more than just dusting off the seats and switching on the lights. You need to hire inspectors to check for problems with plumbing, electrical, cracks in the foundation, etc., which unchecked, could be hazardous to fans. Then you need to make repairs, if the inspection finds anything wrong. Then you have to hire staff for concessions, market the event, etc. That all takes time and money -- and we're talking millions of dollars. No city will justify these expenses for the sake of a three-game series, and I don't think the series would draw nearly enough fans to offset the costs.

I agree that the games should stay in Canada, but Olympic Stadium is not the answer.

[Chad Rubel]

The Expos used Olympic Stadium until 2004. The last time I saw Olympic Stadium on TV was when the Montreal Alouettes won the Eastern Division championship in the CFL last November.

Oh, and AC/DC played there in August when I last visited Montreal.

The funny part would be seeing whether Montreal fans would root for Toronto, given their bitter rivalries in other sports, or whether some in Montreal would pull for Philly.

[Plumber]

The G20 summit is on June 26-27 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The stadium is within an "outer security zone" surrounding the convention center. Fans would have had a harder time getting to the game.