Montreal is mi singAmerica's pastime. Rob Manfred is offering hope for a po sible reunion.

Beforebaseball returns to the city,though,a firmstrategy for a new stadiummust be in place, the new MLB commi sioner .

MORE: |

The key thing in Montreal Logan Ryan Jersey would be to have a plan for an adequate facility that could support baseball over the long haul, Manfredtold the CP. Jack Conklin Jersey "I don't expect people to go into the ground and build a facility without some sort of commitment that they are going to get a team.But I do think that you need a plan, and a commitment to how that plan is going to be executed."

of Labatt Park, a proposed36,000-seat,open-air stadium in downtown Montreal, were unveiled years before the Expos moved to Washington in 2004. ()

Montreal will hosttwo exhibition games between Ryan Tannehill Jersey the Reds and Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium on April 3-4. More than 80,000 tickets have been sold.

"The exhibition games last year (between the Mets and Blue Jays), and how well they were attended (96,350 for Eddie George Jersey the two games)and at least the early reports on the games this year demonstrate a real interest in major league baseball and the Montreal market," Manfred told the CP. "We find that to be ."

Manfred expre sed baseball's desire to make the sportwork in existing markets, but he also left the Taylor Lewan Jersey door open for troubled franchises, such as the Rays and A's, to leave bad stadium situations. He also repeated his opinion that are the best options if moves are needed.

"Mexico and Canada present the most fertile ground just in terms of and the proximity to our existing franchises," Manfred told Austin Johnson Jersey the CP."But we have always been realistic. At the end of the day, relocation to another market could be the only solution."

Sporting News Media's Tom Gatto contributed to this report.