The Toronto Blue Jays are headed back to Montreal in 2016, playing a two-game exhibition series against the Boston Red Sox at Olympic Stadium on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2.
The Blue Jays made the announcement official on a conference call Friday afternoon with Paul Beeston, Alex Anthopoulos and Montreal mayor Denis Coderre.
Similar exhibition events have been hosted for the past two years. The inaugural series in 2014 between the Jays and the New York Mets helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 1994 Montreal Expos (a successful team whose postseason dreams were crushed by a mid August strike). Former Expos Steve Rogers, Tim Raines, and Gary Carter (deceased) were recognized in a ceremony before the game.
The Blue Jays played the Cincinnati Reds at Olympic stadium in early April 2015. Over 46,000 fans watched the Jays fall 2-0 on Friday, but 50,000 cheered them on to a 9-1 victory over the Reds on Saturday.
“It is clearly a strong message that major teams from Major League Baseball want to come to Montreal. Of course, we keep the flame on. Montreal is a serious contender to get back the Expos one day. By showing that we are serious about it, and that a lot of fans are here, we show it’s not about nostalgia; it’s about DNA,” says Coderre.
Tickets to the 2016 games will be available for purchase on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at 12 p.m. ET through the Olympic Stadium Box Office.
