MONTREAL — This is a hockey town and it always will be.
Even though the Canadiens currently toil near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and are 11 points out of playoff spot, the Habs are king here and dominate the sporting landscape. But for one weekend at least, the Montreal Impact will be front and centre.
Major League Soccer’s newest franchise makes its home debut Saturday against the Chicago Fire at Olympic Stadium in what could be the biggest crowd ever to watch a soccer game in the city. Ticket sales have already topped 53,000 according to the club, and an extra few thousand temporary seats have been added to increase the capacity to over 60,000.
The club is trying to break the attendance record set in 1981 in the old NASL when the Montreal Manic hosted the Chicago Sting in front of 58,542 supporters — and based on the healthy soccer enthusiasm in this city right now, the Impact will more than likely eclipse the attendance mark.
"We’re going to break the record," an Impact official confidently told sportsnet.ca.
Walk around downtown or take the subway and you’ll see a plethora of billboards and posters promoting the Impact. Team jerseys are featured prominently in the windows of some of the biggest shops. Over 2000 fans attended the Impact’s Open House on Thursday at the stadium to watch the team practise.
No doubt it about it, there’s a healthy buzz in hockey town for the Impact.
"When I first moved here, there was talk of the team (and its debut) in 2012," Impact coach Jesse Marsch said. "Now when you go around town you see the club symbol everywhere — posters on the street, and in restaurants, and in bars — there’s a real awareness. So there’s definitely anticipation for what this team’s going to mean for the city."
Midfielder Patrice Bernier, who played for the Impact from 2000 to 2002 when they competed in the A-League, has been surprised by the level of support the team has received.
"The buzz has been great. I’m discovering that there are a lot of soccer fans in this city coming back to the game. More than I thought it would be," Bernier said.
But will the buzz last? That’s a difficult question to answer.
While Saturday’s match could attract close to 60,000 spectators, season ticket sales have been lagging, with 7,500 packages purchased.
One Montreal soccer insider attributes the low season ticket sales to the fact that the club didn’t sign a designated player in the off-season; a star who could have been marketed and promoted to get fans out to games.
He also believes that the team is going to have to produce a winning product right from the start before fans commit to season ticket packages.
"People want to be wined and dined in this city. They want a winner. If the team can win, then people will come out," he said.
Bernier, a native of Brossard, Que., offers a differing view, suggesting that the club doesn’t have to necessarily win, so long as the Impact are competitive and entertaining to watch.
"We are the product, so we have to make sure we deliver. People are realistic; they know that we are an expansion team, but we have to deliver a good product, especially at home," Bernier said.
"People will get behind us and after that, we have to slowly build up to be good franchise and then a playoff franchise."
But how patient will fans be?
Another Montreal soccer insider suggests that if the Impact get off to a poor start this season, much like the Vancouver Whitecaps did in their inaugural MLS campaign last year, they’ll struggle at the gate.
Bernier feels the Impact are well positioned to gain a strong foothold in Montreal’s sporting conscience, especially now with the Canadiens faltering and destined to miss the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"There’s a gap now because the Canadiens aren’t doing so well … so it’s up to us to seize the day. There’s a spot to be taken, we just have to compete and deliver a good product on the field," Bernier stated.
The Impact will play their first five MLS games at Olympic Stadium while their home venue, Saputo Stadium, undergoes renovations to increase its capacity to over 20,000. The club moves back to Saputo Stadium on June 16 when they play the Seattle Sounders.