As I watch the Washington Nationals' new fans experience the Expo-itis (unexpected early season success, followed by a drop off, a tight finish, but ultimately, disappointment) that had become second nature to me, I once again thought about Montreal's rap as a city that couldn't support a "major league" team.
I think the real factors were many: bad overall league economics; a bad ballpark (made worse by team owners and league management unwilling to consider paying for a new one themselves); a decade of poormouthing the product on the field (an interesting marketing ploy, to say the least); the fact that the Expos weren't part of a larger media business, with their own regional cable/satellite outlet.
That last one's probably the killer: a team could probably get away with being only break-even on its own if it can claim a large proportion of the ad revenue generated through radio, cable, and internet distribution. It's even better when they own the cable channel, and get a carriage fee.
Nevertheless, what caught my interest was the list of MLB franchise-sporting cities (urban agglomerations, really) that were smaller than metro Montreal (with approximately 3.6 million people). In descending order:
- Minneapolis
- San Diego
- St Louis
- Denver
- Tampa
- Pittsburgh
- Cincinnati
- Kansas City
- Milwaukee
Oakland, Anaheim, and Baltimore don't make the list because they're rolled into the greater San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington DC agglomerations, respectively.
As it turns out, Montreal is the 16th-largest market in the US and Canada, by population.
