labatt park montreal expos stadium downtown peel basin condos

This was the Montreal Expos’ proposed downtown stadium

Labatt Park would have situated the Expos in the heart of Downtown Montreal.

It has been over 15 years since the Montreal Expos played their last game in the city. The team is now based in Washington and won their first World Series as the Nationals in 2019.

An artist’s rendering of the proposed Labatt Park

Before the Expos moved, there was a plan for a new stadium in the heart of Downtown Montreal. The proposed Labatt Park would have opened just in time for the 2002 MLB season. The venue would have cost approximately $250-million and been able to seat over 36,000 attendees.

The stadium was designed by the architecture firm Provencher Roy. Labatt Park would have been located on the corner of Peel and St-Jacques, just blocks away from the Bell Centre.

Labatt Park Montreal Expos
Labatt Park had a central location, very far from the Olympic Stadium

As the story goes, Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard shut down the stadium idea. He did not want to provide government funding when the Olympic Stadium had not yet been paid off in full (this was finally achieved in 2006) and hospitals were in the midst of closing.

Montreal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria moved the team to Washington as the Nationals after the 2004 season. Condos have since been built on the proposed stadium land. Oddly enough, many have pointed out that the current Nationals Park has a very similar design to the would-be Montreal venue.

One can only wonder whether this Labatt Park would have saved the Montreal Expos from their relocation. Take a look at what could have been with these sketches of the stadium.

Labatt Park Montreal Expos

Labatt Park Montreal Expos
Labatt Park

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