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Rapport De Parc
24 Juillet 2004
Olympic Stadium
Florida Marlins at Montreal Expos

Final Score: 6-2, Montreal

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Olympic Stadium...
Simon, Joe and Fisher...
Plastic Grass Plastic Roof...
Puck Protector...
Queues de Castor...
Hot Dogs Poutine...
A Busy Night...

 PARK INFO

Ticket Price:

$15C down right field line ($1 US = 76¢ Canadian)

Public Transit:

Subway

Parking:

$12.00C

Beer & Dog Price:

$8.25C - don't forget it's Canadian $

Best Concession:

Gyros – nice assortment of concessions in food court behind home plate

Trivia:
Though the park was commissioned for the 1976 Olympics, it wasn't finished until 1987. The Expos have played there since 1977. Capacity 46,500 - Average Attendance <11,000

Dominant Color:

Blue/yellow

 FANS

Attendance:

21%

Demeanor:

Raucous

 EXPERIENCE

Unique Adjective:

"Bruit!" (Noise)

Rating:

Comments:

 

 

 

 

Look, I'll admit I went to this game with an educated predisposition that this would be the worst park I will visit. It just goes to show you what prejudices are all about. I had a great time at this game. Sure the seats are molded plastic, the out of town score board was primitive to say the least, the foul poles were RED CLOTH with no lights, the announcer spoke French only, the front row of seats all around the park was protected (obscuring the view) by plexiglas ala a hockey rink (this IS Canada you know). I still enjoyed a good game highlighted by the longest duration wave done by the fewest people ever.

It might have been the that I was not alone as I was accompanied by the Fabulous Gina, my son Jeff, grandsons Fisher and Simon, brother-in-law Charles and Cullen of the Vermont Barbers. The fans that did show were fully cognizant of what was going on at all times and reacted accordingly by using as their rallying cry a rhythmic slamming down of the multitude of empty seats. This was not just kids but included adults as well. They have great fans here; just not enough of them.

Nowhere to be found was information on pitch speed and number of pitches thrown by each pitcher. The infield is all artificial turf with cutouts for the bases. This is a fully enclosed stadium that has seen better days (a long time ago!). So what gives this almost empty ballpark a rating as high as a seven? VALUE!! You can watch a Major League Baseball game here for the equivalent of under $10.00 American in decent seats (bring a bum cushion). You can't even go to a first run movie in Boston for that price. Throw in the creativity of the person running the antiquated video screen in center field and you have entertainment. No sausage, boat or car races, no Mexican baseball hat tricks, none of that corny crap seen at so many of the newer parks. Just baseball, pure baseball without that DH garbage. I salute the fans of this sad franchise. It does not appear there will be a Montreal baseball team next year. They will probably be located in the Washington D.C. area, charge triple the price for tickets and try to entice fans to the games with all the silly gimmicks so prevalent today.

- Joe Wagg