(Editor’s note) We present to you our traditional Year in Review. Journalists in the L’Express newsroom have identified twelve significant events in the year 2025. News that made the Drummondville community and surrounding areas vibrate, reflect and react. We have also prepared a retrospective of the City of Drummondville and the 17 other municipalities making up the MRC of Drummond. It’s one last look in the rearview mirror before we start the new year. Happy reading!
RETROSPECTIVE. The moment has been long awaited by the Drummondville sports community. On Friday July 4, 2025, the Jacques-Desautels Desjardins stadium is officially inaugurated.
Hours before Brock Nutrite Lambert’s home opener, a crowd of people gathered in the concourse of the new stadium. Without a doubt, the heart is in celebration. People from the political, sporting or business community, everyone is unanimous: the wait has been worth it.
Built in 1980, the stadium had not undergone any major renovations since that time. Not surprisingly, the infrastructure had become obsolete. Having required an investment of nearly $8 million, the new building has 800 seats. The stands are partly covered by a roof.
Speaking with great enthusiasm, Mayor Stéphanie Lacoste spoke of a great day for Drummondville.
“This stadium is more than a baseball stadium. It is a place of pride, of gathering, a symbol of ambition and vision for our community. With this project, we wanted to provide our community with a modern, universally accessible, functional and inspiring space.”
According to Brock president Mathieu Audet, it is the most beautiful stadium in Quebec. “The project is magnificent. It is an architectural beauty. I find that it consolidates a sports district with the football field, the CEGEP gymnasiums and the sports complex.”
Carrying out such a project was not without pitfalls. Initially planned for the spring, the opening of the stadium was postponed by a few months. Having not obtained a government subsidy, elected officials and the municipal administration nevertheless decided to move forward with the new infrastructure.
The partners involved in the renovation of the stadium express their pride in perpetuating the memory of Jacques Desautels. The man who had a profound impact on the Drummondville sporting landscape died in 2001, at the age of 61.
“To honor him, we put up a mural, an exhibition of personal objects and commemorative panels to tell the story of his journey,” emphasizes Stéphanie Lacoste. It’s a way to keep his memory alive here, where sport continues to unite people.”
In the name of Jacques Desautels, we add that of Desjardins to identify the new infrastructure. A five-year agreement provides that the cooperative will pay $150,000 to the City.
On the ground, a few hours after the inauguration, the Brock made a spectacular comeback in an evening rich in emotions. After trailing 11-5 in the 5th round, the Drummondvillois overcame adversity to win by a score of 12-11 against the Unicanvas of Thetford Mines.
The 916 spectators present will certainly have given wings to the team. Mathieu Audet also evokes the contribution of “local baseball gods”, such as Jacques Desautels, Manon Salvas and Pierre Roux.
After attracting nearly 10,000 spectators during the regular season, the Brock was swept by the Unicanvas in the quarter-finals of the series in the Quebec Major Baseball League. In the minutes following this elimination, head coach Samuel Guilbert recalled how privileged his team is to play in such an infrastructure.
In the Vallée-des-Forts BB Senior Baseball League, Saint-Fred celebrates its entry into the new stadium by winning the first playoff championship in its history. In the final, the regular season champions swept the Sorel-Tracy Marlins.
The new stadium also hosts collegiate, high school, minor and amateur baseball teams.
