Montreal's dalliance with Major League Soccer, even after their original bid failed, continues unabated.
A week ago, MLS Commissioner Don Garber posted a glowing review of Montreal as a potential Major League Soccer city, a missive that seemed oddly random at the time.
We now know, thanks to a story from The Canadian Press, that Garber's words came one day after he met personally with Impact owner Joey Saputo.
"Whatever happened in the past, it's time to turn the page on it and move forward," Saputo said. "They see Montreal as a great market, we see Montreal as a great potential franchise in the MLS and it's time for us to look at that."
I guess we can consider that bridge fully functional; a little charred perhaps, but certainly not burned.
Saputo maintains supreme confidence that he will soon bring MLS soccer to Montreal, a confidence that is no doubt bolstered by his belief that the Quebec provincial government will provide aid to expand Stade Saputo.
"We've been speaking to the provincial government, and it's going very well," he said. "The ball is in their court, but the conversations we've had with them have been very positive. I see no reason why it shouldn't happen."
Stadium expansion would take place in two phases, with the total capacity to be raised to 21,000 by fall 2010. That's an extremely quick turnaround if Saputo secures the $45 million (Canadian) needed from the Quebec government. The only reasonable conclusion to make is that the Impact (or their renamed successor) expect join MLS in 2011. Have promises been made?
Saputo beliefs that it wouldn't take much to transition his USL side to MLS, declaring that he would only need to pick up "three or four players". While I don't if that's necessarily the case, it could be that Garber agrees with Saputo's assessment of his organization, and will fast track their entry.
Your thoughts on MLS in Montreal? When do you expect it to happen? Is this all posturing for the moment, or should we expect Montreal to be added to the expansion roster sooner rather than later?
