By Canadian Press

Montreal group would be happy to split Rays home games between two cities

Jun 26, 2019 | 12:44 PM

MONTREAL — The man at the helm of a group trying to bring Major League Baseball back to Montreal says a plan for the Tampa Bay Rays to split games between Quebec’s biggest city and Florida is “groundbreaking.”

Stephen Bronfman is on board with an idea for the Rays to play half of their 81 home games in Tampa, Fla., and half in Montreal.

“I think even in a split scenario, it’s a return of baseball permanently to Montreal,” Bronfman said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“I think the first step is to start playing ball … We’ve got an opportunity to explore and study this sister city concept. We’re in a different world. Hats off to Major League Baseball for being so innovative in their thinking and their progressive nature of even considering a concept like this. It’s very groundbreaking when you talk about sport.”

Stu Sternberg, the principal owner of the Rays, said Tuesday a shared season with Montreal is the best option for his team.

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Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week the Rays have “broad permission to explore what’s available.” Tampa Bay is averaging 14,546 fans a game, lowest in the American League and well below the MLB average of 27,360. Only the Miami Marlins draw worse at 9,378.

An agreement between the Rays and St. Petersburg for Tropicana Field runs through 2027. St. Petersburg’s mayor has shot down the two-city possibility.

Sternberg envisions open-air stadiums in both cities but noted there are no plans to pay for them. He said an ideal target date would have everything in place for the 2024 season.

The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inception in 1998 and drew their lowest home crowd of 5,786 against Toronto last month.

Montreal has been without a big-league team since the Expos left after the 2004 season for Washington and became the Nationals.

Bronfman’s father, Charles, was the original owner of the Expos.

— with files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press