The Montreal mayoral candidate pledged to focus efforts on luring an NBA franchise to the city if he wins the Nov. 7 election.
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Call him “Ballarama.”
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Mayoral candidate Balarama Holness pledged Saturday to focus some of his administration’s efforts on luring a National Basketball Association franchise to the city instead of a Major League Baseball team if he wins the Nov. 7 municipal election.
As basketball’s popularity continues to climb across Canada on the back of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship run, Montreal’s economy — powered by a new generation of tech companies — would be strong enough to support an NBA team, he argued. Pre-season Raptors games at the Bell Centre have traditionally drawn large crowds, and the presence of several Quebec-born players across the NBA would surely stoke fan interest.
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Attracting an NBA franchise “is a sports economy, business and tourism initiative. It’s a smart business decision,” Holness said in a lunchtime interview as he prepared to work up a sweat by taking part in a five-on-five basketball tournament in Little Burgundy.
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“I feel like this is a top-tier project that can bring together Montreal’s greatest assets, whether it’s companies, players or the creative industry, and showcase all that to the global community. We want to have a project that can bring Montrealers together.”
Holness, 38, is a McGill law graduate and former Canadian Football League player turned community activist. He heads the newly created Mouvement Montréal party as he bids to defeat incumbent Valérie Plante and her predecessor Denis Coderre, who has long championed the return of MLB to the city.
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“A lot of people see me as an activist and Grey Cup Champion, but my first sport is basketball,” Holness said. “I started playing football at the age of 18. I’ve played basketball my whole life. Personally, it’s a love of mine and I would do a great job in attracting investors and companies. Being a former professional athlete is more linked to my identity than being an activist.”
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Basketball “epitomizes the changes that we want to see here in Montreal,” Holness added “It’s a new party, a party of new blood and new energy, and that’s reflective of this basketball team.”
Before anyone gets their hopes up, NBA expansion is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Commissioner Adam Silver said last month growing beyond 30 teams is “just not at the top of the agenda right now.”
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Still, Holness is undeterred.
“They said expansion is not a priority. That doesn’t mean that with a viable offer, we wouldn’t see Adam Silver look at it,” he said.
Montreal banker and former senator Michael Fortier said in 2018 that local businesspeople would be ready to bid for a franchise if and when the NBA ever went ahead with expansion.
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Fortier didn’t respond to an email from the Montreal Gazette seeking comment on the matter. Holness declined to say whether he’s been in touch with him.
Asked to name at least one potential investor, Holness pointed to his friend Dax Dasilva, the founder and chief executive of Montreal e-commerce company Lightspeed POS Inc.
“There are a lot of young entrepreneurs who are thriving, new millionaires in Montreal,” he said. “We wouldn’t necessarily depend on some of the other investors that are hyper-focused on baseball.”
Unlike baseball, basketball wouldn’t require a new facility if it expanded here. An NBA club would share the Bell Centre with the Canadiens, which would make the Molson family “a key partner” in the venture, Holness said. He stressed he’s yet to approach the Molsons.
‘When you look at basketball and baseball, basketball is a lot more viable option based on the economics,” he said. “We don’t need $500 million for a new stadium.”
NBA franchise would be more viable than new Expos, Holness says - Montreal Gazette
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