3. C ITY MUST PROVE THEY CAN SUPPORT THE TEAM FOR A MINIMUM OF 50 YEARS C ITY MUST PROVE THEY CAN SUPPORT THE TEAM FOR A MINIMUM OF 50 YEARS S TRONG EXISTING AND GROWING POPULATION S TRONG EXISTING AND GROWING POPULATION S OLID BASEBALL FAN BASE S OLID BASEBALL FAN BASE A DEQUATE TRANSPORTATION TO STADIUM A DEQUATE TRANSPORTATION TO STADIUM S TRONG INVESTMENT POTENTIAL S TRONG INVESTMENT POTENTIAL C ITY OF M ONTREAL M ONTREAL CURRENTLY HAS A POPULATION OF 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE. I T IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE PROVINCE OF Q UEBEC AND THE 2 ND LARGEST CITY IN C ANADA AND HAS AN INCREASING DEMOGRAPHIC M ONTREAL CURRENTLY HAS A POPULATION OF 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE. I T IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE PROVINCE OF Q UEBEC AND THE 2 ND LARGEST CITY IN C ANADA AND HAS AN INCREASING DEMOGRAPHIC T HE T ORONTO BLUE JAYS PLAYED 2 PRESEASON GAMES AGAINST THE METS AT O LYMPIC STADIUM IN 2014 AND THERE WAS A TOTAL ATTENDANCE OF 96,350 BETWEEN THOSE GAMES, SHOWING THE CITY HAS A PASSION FOR BASEBALL. O N TOP OF THOSE SELLOUT CROWDS THE E XPOS HAVE PREVIOUSLY EXISTED IN M ONTRÉAL SO THEY ALREADY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED FAN BASE T HE T ORONTO BLUE JAYS PLAYED 2 PRESEASON GAMES AGAINST THE METS AT O LYMPIC STADIUM IN 2014 AND THERE WAS A TOTAL ATTENDANCE OF 96,350 BETWEEN THOSE GAMES, SHOWING THE CITY HAS A PASSION FOR BASEBALL. O N TOP OF THOSE SELLOUT CROWDS THE E XPOS HAVE PREVIOUSLY EXISTED IN M ONTRÉAL SO THEY ALREADY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED FAN BASE T HE STADIUM IS ACCESSIBLE BY UNDERGROUND TRAIN AND THE SPORTS CENTER AND TOWER ARE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF THE VIAU METRO STATION. T HE STADIUM IS ACCESSIBLE BY UNDERGROUND TRAIN AND THE SPORTS CENTER AND TOWER ARE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF THE VIAU METRO STATION. W ARREN C ROMARTIE, AN EX - EXPO, WHO IS HEADING UP A CAMPAIGN TO BRING BACK MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO M ONTRÉAL CLAIMS HE HAS INVESTORS LINED UP BUT CANNOT REVEAL WHO W ARREN C ROMARTIE, AN EX - EXPO, WHO IS HEADING UP A CAMPAIGN TO BRING BACK MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO M ONTRÉAL CLAIMS HE HAS INVESTORS LINED UP BUT CANNOT REVEAL WHO

5. Owners Voting and Existing Structures In Major League Baseball the owners association doesn’t get to vote on expansion teams. They do have a say in the matter but the overall decision is made by the commissioner. As far as a stadium to play in there should be no issue in using the Olympic stadium located in Montreal. The Montreal Alouettes (CFL) are the only other professional sports team to play out of Olympic and the Blue Jays manage to share the rogers center no problem with the Toronto Argonauts (CFL).

7.  M ONTREAL HAS ALREADY PROVEN IT CAN HOST AN MLB TEAM AND HAVE RECENTLY PROVED THAT THE FAN BASE STILL EXISTS WHEN THE BLUE JAYS HOSTED 2 PRESEASON GAMES THIS YEAR AND BOTH WERE SELLOUT CROWDS  I T HAS A SOLID STADIUM ALREADY IN PLACE REDUCING COSTS, AS WELL AS ESTABLISHED TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE STADIUM  M ONTREAL ALSO HAS A MASSIVE POPULATION MEANING MORE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

8.  V ANCOUVER HAS A POPULATION OF 578,000 MAKING IT THE 3 RD LARGEST CITY IN C ANADA  T HEY PLAY HOST TO THE S INGLE A BLUE JAYS AFFILIATE TEAM SO THERE IS A BASEBALL FAN BASE  U NFORTUNATELY THE STADIUM WOULD PROBABLY NOT BE BIG ENOUGH TO HOST AN MLB TEAM SO A NEW ONE WOULD HAVE TO BE BUILT AS WELL AS TRASNPORTATION

9. P ORTLAND HAS A POPULATION OF 610,000 AND IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE STATE OF O REGON P ORTLAND HAS A POPULATION OF 610,000 AND IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE STATE OF O REGON P ORTLAND ' S METRO SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE CITIES FINEST POINTS WITH EASY ACCESS TO ALL MAJOR PARTS OF THE CITY P ORTLAND ' S METRO SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE CITIES FINEST POINTS WITH EASY ACCESS TO ALL MAJOR PARTS OF THE CITY U NFORTUNATELY P ORTLAND DOESN ’ T HAVE MUCH OF A FAN BASE OR A STADIUM MAKING IT THE WEAKEST OPTION U NFORTUNATELY P ORTLAND DOESN ’ T HAVE MUCH OF A FAN BASE OR A STADIUM MAKING IT THE WEAKEST OPTION

11. After assessing all the options it seems clear to me that Montreal is the clear cut choice for an MLB expansion team. They have an extremely strong demographic who have proven to the league that there fans never lost there passion for the expos. Olympic stadium can hold more people for a baseball game than the rogers center meaning they have a more than sufficient place to call home. Olympic stadium also has a tall leaning tower over the stadium giving it just another attraction for people to come. Speaking of people coming to the game, not only does the underground train bring you right to the stadium but there's also approximately 4500 parking spots at the stadium to accommodate everyone's transportation needs. Montreal also has investors who are ready to spend the money (upwards of $250 million) to get the team started because they know there's potential to make there money back and then some within the first 10-15 years. Montreal meets all the criteria of Major League Baseball when it comes to an expansion team and would expand the league itself by giving the Great White North its second professional baseball team. I highly recommend VCC invest in the Montreal Expos as I see nothing but potential and profit.