THE SIDELINES : Quebec OKs Loan to Buy Expos

The Quebec government has granted a low-interest loan of up to $20.9 million to a consortium of private investors hoping to purchase the Montreal Expos, Tourism Minister Andre Vallerand said today.

The interest rate in each of the first five years of the 10-year loan will be 2%, Vallerand said, and it will increase to 4% in the last five years.

The government would get a percentage of any profits the Expos would make, Vallerand said.

The loan hinges on the city of Montreal’s contributing $15 million to the investors and on commitments by the franchise to launch a major campaign to increase the number of season tickets. The government loan also stipulates that the future buyers of the team would not be able to move the team out of Montreal for 10 years unless the loan is repaid.

A group of investors, including Expos President Claude Brochu, is trying to purchase the team from Charles Bronfman, Hugh Hallward and Lorne Webster. It is reportedly $35 million short of the $116-million asking price.