'I'm in,' says Valérie Plante on possible return of Major League Baseball to Montreal

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says she's "in" and looks forward to more meetings with prominent businessmen Stephen Bronfman and Mitch Garber to discuss ways to support a possible return of Major League Baseball to Montreal.

"What's good for Montreal? This is where we're in. We're always looking forward to having good projects for Montreal," Plante said after her first meeting with Garber and Bronfman.

The two men lead a group of local investors looking to land an MLB team, either through expansion or the relocation of an existing club.

Plante said the three first talked about their love for Montreal before discussing ideas for a variety of projects that could boost Montreal's profile — including the return of a pro baseball team to the city.

"It's a big project and a big dream, and if it does happen one day, it will be good for the city and for us all," said Bronfman.

"The baseball file is a slow-moving file," agreed Garber. "We're not asking the city for anything today other than to support the idea of Major League Baseball coming back and being good for the city of Montreal."

Plante, who has faced criticism from Montreal sports fans for not being as staunch a supporter as her predecessor, Denis Coderre, said she's been wanting to be brought up to speed on the baseball file for a while, but her agenda was always too packed.

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"That was excellent. It made a lot of people happy," said Bronfman, laughing.

Plante said she is committed to supporting the cause "if it makes sense for Montreal."

"If we need to build a new stadium and that would imply using Montrealers' money, we need to ask them first, because we've seen other places in the world, in North America, where it's been very expensive, and it was difficult on the citizens' pocket."

Plante said there are many ways, other than financial, in which the city can offer its support, such as finding a plot of land on which to build an eventual stadium.

Bronfman says for this dream to come true, it will take everyone's collaboration.

"It's a big project. It requires support from the city, from the province, from people all around us, and it takes all the fans and citizens," he said.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said it's not among his priorities, and he would only get on board if Quebecers could stand to gain from the baseball industry.

"If we are one day partners, and that's a big 'if' because we have many other things to do before taking on major sports, it will be to the benefit of all Quebecers — not just to the shareholders of private companies," Couillard said.

One non-profit fans group fighting for the return of MLB to the city, ExposNation, says although no serious details were discussed Friday, it was a positive step.

"This first meeting today is the first in a long line," said ExposNation chair Matthew Ross.

"Montreal baseball fans need to be very, very patient here.... Really, it's all about Major League Baseball's time frame."

"In the meantime, the local efforts here in Montreal have to continue to work behind the scenes to ready themselves in case the opportunity arises."