The president of the Quebec Major Baseball League (LBMQ), Daniel Bélisle, maintained that all options will be considered regarding the possibility of adding a tenth franchise after the loss of the Blue Sox. The group that acquires it, whether from Thetford Mines or elsewhere, must first meet the league’s requirements.
“He must be serious and financially solid. Our standards are quite high. We do not rule out dissolving the franchise and doing a special draft, but this will be the last possibility if no serious group meets our requirements,” the president told Courrier Frontenac.
The latter said Wednesday that he had not yet had discussions with potential buyers, having closed the door until the annual gala which is to take place this Saturday. “We want to leave plenty of room for this event at the end of the week. We will then put our initial requirements on paper. It is from Monday (November 13) that we will look into this to see if there are any groups interested in taking the first step. »
However, time is running out since the league wants this matter to be resolved before the draft which will take place at the end of January. The deadline would be around mid-January to give teams time to prepare. The fact that the City of Thetford Mines has already shown its support for a new group that would decide to continue the adventure of the LBMQ at the Desjardins stadium is positive for the future, according to him.
“It is certain that the support of the City is one of our requirements. It also takes good facilities with a stadium, changing rooms, catering, a well-maintained and compliant pitch. Thetford already has all of this,” said Daniel Bélisle.
He nevertheless reiterated that the league will not accept an offer at any price. “We will not support a group whose seriousness we doubt. We want baseball to continue, in Thetford or elsewhere, but above all we want to leave the franchise in good hands and according to the standards that François [Lécuyer] has established in the past. Like I said before, his private life is one thing, but we’ve developed an affinity over the years. He brought an innovative business model to the league. We will not accept anything below that,” he concluded.
Read: The Thetford Mines Blue Sox are expelled from the LBMQ
2023-11-09 19:32:13
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