MLS commissioner Don Garber visited today Montreal to discuss possible MLS expansion with Impact owner Joey Saputo according to a league press release. On the agenda were talks with Quebec's Minister of Finance Raymond Bachand regarding possible government funding for Stade Saputo stadium renovations.


Stade Saputo currently seats 13,000 spectators and could be upgraded to 20,000 with Quebec provincial assistance.

“We continued our discussions with the Saputo family about a future MLS expansion team in Montreal and had very productive meetings with Minister Bachand about securing funding for the expansion of Saputo Stadium,” Garber said following his morning meetings. “We’ve stated many times that Montreal would be a great market for MLS and we look forward to continuing our discussions.”


Garber recently reiterated that Montreal remained a front-runner for the league's next expansion spot during the buildup to the MLS Cup Final in Seattle.

“We are very happy with the visit of the MLS executives in Montreal,” declared Impact President Joey Saputo. “The meetings this morning with Minister Bachand and Mayor Tremblay were very positive. It's clear for us, and now more than ever, that the arrival of MLS in Montreal is only a question of time. We are hoping to have news in the first quarter of 2010.”


Rumors of an imminent announcement regarding Montreal's MLS future have been bouncing around both the US and Canada for weeks. Garber's visit appears to be just one more small step towards that announcement happening, though it might that securing provincial funding for Stade Saputo's upgrade is a prerequisite.


It's also interesting that Garber would travel to Montreal and discuss expansion with Saputo, then have the league issue a press release, all while the unresolved CBA negotiations still hang over the league's head.
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