Less than six months after MLS rejected its bid for an expansion team in 2011, the Montreal Impact is seeking to strengthen its case by getting $20 million in government funding to expand 13,000-seat Stade Saputo.
Impact president Joey Saputo hopes to get government support like Vancouver and Portland did.
“It’s something we never looked at and it’s something we’ll have to, or else we’re going to see the train pass again and that’s something we can’t let happen,” Saputo said Wednesday at a team banquet. “We worked hard to develop the sport of soccer in Quebec and we have to start being more aggressive because infrastructure money is available and we can’t be shy to take a look at potentially getting some of that money so we can bring the next level of soccer here, which would be the MLS.”
The Saputo family spent $12 million to build Stade Saputo. They hope to expand the facility to more than 20,000 seats.
Montreal’s bid by Saputo and Montreal Canadiens owner and Liverpool co-owner George Gillett was rejected because MLS insisted that $40 million be spent on the expansion and not a combination of stadium work and expansion fee.