The commissioner of the Frontier Baseball League, Steve Tahsler, was recently in Trois-Rivières and took the opportunity to praise the importance of Canadian teams within the league, including Trois-Rivières.
“We love having the Canadian teams with us and they are very good markets for us. The fans are so passionate! We have teams in the Saint-Louis and Chicago area that have a large French population and they come to watch the games. We have a lot of Canadians, established in the United States, who are proud to come and see Canadian teams play as well,” he testified.
“Trois-Rivières is celebrating its 10th anniversary and it’s great to have them here. It’s so easy to work with Frédérik Bélanger, René Martin, Jérôme Duchesneau and even Matthew Rusch on the baseball side. They often have good questions, on a regular basis, always with the aim of being up to date. They always have the desire to improve the customer experience, while getting involved in the community. »
The Frontier Baseball League currently has 16 teams, including one homeless team, the Empire State Grays. It should not be surprising to see new cities joining the circuit.
“We have certain discussions that could arise as early as next season, particularly in terms of expansion. We are very comfortable with our current teams and we get along well with the management of the existing teams. We came back strong after two terrible years of COVID-19 and even reached attendance records in several markets. Our league is healthy and we are open to expansion,” he adds.
“We are also studying the fact of having four divisions. In the East, we could find Quebec, Trois-Rivières and Tri-City, with one of the new formations. Ottawa could end up with Sussex County, New Jersey and New York. It would provide more intra-division matches to create rivalries. Starting next year, we could see at least 12 matches between Trois-Rivières and Ottawa and a minimum of 12 matches between Trois-Rivières and Quebec. Rivalries are good for the league, but also for the markets. Our goal is to release the calendar on October 1st, perhaps with one or two new formations. »
Who says expansion says Montreal. The Trois-Rivières Aigles also played a game on Montreal soil this season, live from Gary Carter Stadium, and Steve Tahsler was there.
“We have had discussions with Montreal, but they do not yet have a stadium to accommodate a team,” he explained. Let’s say that Montreal is our priority. It is our goal to have the first professional baseball team back in Montreal. As I mentioned, they need a stadium comparable to those in Trois-Rivières and Quebec, with catering services, the terrace and some 4,000 seats. We couldn’t go to Montreal to a place that won’t work. We must ensure that it is viable in the long term. »
“Montreal has business people interested in the project, but this aspect remains to be resolved. It would be great to have an all-Canadian division in our league,” he concluded.
2023-09-11 15:18:31
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