With the election of Valerie Plante as Montreal's mayor, the chances of baseball returning to Montreal soon were greatly reduced. Coderre proposed spending $500 million on a new stadium while Plante said she would only do that if taxpayers approved it in a referendum. The Paradise Papers scandal involving Trudeau's principal fundraiser and the Montreal baseball team's likely owner, Stephen Bronfman, would look now like a giveaway of federal government tax dollars to a crony who was hiding his wealth in a tax haven - hardly likely to win one votes. The Quebec government's announcement that it was going to spend hundreds of millions on a new Big Owe roof means it is unlikely to fund a baseball stadium also.

Coderre was one of the biggest Expos fans in Montreal and a driving force behind bringing Major League Baseball back to the city.Then a report came out about an investigation by the CBC, Radio-Canada and the Toronto Star that found Stephen Bronfman and his Montreal-based investment company Claridge Inc., were key players linked to a US$60-million offshore trust in the Cayman Islands that might have cost Canadians millions of dollars in unpaid taxes. Bronfman and Mitch Garber are two of the businessmen involved in trying to bring the Expos back.On Monday, Bronfman insisted he has “never funded or used offshore trusts.”Later in the week came news the Quebec government had given the go-ahead to replace the infamous roof at Olympic Stadium at an estimated cost of between $200 million and $250 million — roughly half the estimated cost of a new downtown ballpark. There are plenty of Expos fans who believe the Big O — which was never a friendly place for baseball — played a big role in the departure of the team.That’s three strikes. ...
Coderre definitely believes Montreal needs the Expos, but Plante doesn’t seem so sure. During a French-language debate before the election, Plante criticized Coderre for what she described as behind-the-scenes negotiations to spend taxpayers’ money on a new stadium. Plante said she wasn’t against the Expos returning, but promised a referendum on a new ballpark if it involved taxpayers’ money. Coderre wasn’t interested in a referendum, possibly because he knew what the result would be. Taxpayers have become less willing over the years to have governments shell out public money to wealthy owners for new stadiums where they can charge fans big money to watch millionaire athletes play a game.
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/v...82286730549368