| The NL
East Montreal Expos: On May
27th 1968 The National League awarded two expansion franchises for the
1969 season. The cities of Montreal and San Diego became the newest
members of Major League baseball. The team was named “the Expos” and
originally played in Jarry Park. The Expos recorded their first
no-hitter game in their debut season against the Phillies. In 1976
Montreal was chosen to host the Olympic games; therefore, a new stadium
had to be constructed. They named it Olympic Stadium, and it was one of
the first ballparks that had a retractable roof. Unfortunately,
construction was not completed in time for the Olympics (the roof was
not in place). However the stadium itself was ready so the games were
not relocated. In 1977 the Expos moved to Olympic Stadium, which had its
drawbacks (the roof was still not finished), so a smaller playing field
was used from 1977 to 1988. When the roof was finally completed in 1988
there were several issues with the construction. It was a giant orange
fabric roof that took 45 minutes to open and $700,000 a year to
maintain. The roof remained closed until 1997, when it was detached. The
Expos played the 1998 season without a roof until 1999 when a new
non-retractable roof was assembled. In 1991, the stadium was remodeled
and the seating capacity was reduced to 46,500. They also installed
up-to-date scoreboards and new retractable stands so football could be
played at the stadium as well. In the 90’s, the Expos yearned for a new
downtown ballpark but that prayer was never answered. The team’s revenue
had decreased so quickly that in 2003 the expos had to play several
games in Puerto Rico in an effort to increase funds. The Montreal Expos
will continue to play games in Puerto Rico this season in an attempt to
try to prevent their extinction from Major League Baseball.
See more at the Montreal Expos Official Site
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Team
Stadium
2004
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