In Montreal, a preliminary survey by the Saine Marketing
Group, commissioned by the Expos, indicated that a new downtown
ballpark would increase Expos season-ticket sales from 7,000 to
"more than" 16,000, according to Jeff Blair in the Montreal
GAZETTE. The survey, which will involve "more than" 10,000
interviews, showed that 34% have "very and significant" interest
in baseball, compared to 45% for hockey. Approximately 20% of
fans who come to Expos games are from outside the metropolitan
Montreal area. The survey also revealed that 28% listed
financial means as the reason for low attendance at Expos games,
while 26% blamed the stadium. Expos President Claude Brochu:
"The important things from our point of view is this showed that
Montreal is a baseball city, that we've been hurt by the economy
and that many of our problems are stadium-related." Sources
indicated Brochu "has had informal discussions" with federal
officials about the availability of public funds, but has made no
public mention of it (Montreal GAZETTE, 10/29).
