Critics jeer plans for $400 million tennis stadium expansion in beloved Montreal park

Tennis Canada's proposal to build new facilities in an iconic green space has been met with strong criticism by Montrealers who fear losing the few green spaces they have access to.MONTREAL (CN) — Tennis Canada’s proposed expansion in Montreal’s iconic Jarry Park is dismaying to many residents who demand their park remain a public space.“Not one more inch!” Montrealers exclaimed as they marched through the streets Sunday, calling on the nonprofit organization to cancel its modernization project, announced in late June.For years, Tennis Canada and park users have clashed over the green space.The park, the first home of the Montreal Expos, later the Washington Nationals, has been a tennis hotspot since the 1980s. The ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament National Bank Open — a level just below the sport’s four Grand Slams — is held every August at the IGA stadium on the park’s southeast side. During that period, 22% of the space is occupied by Tennis Canada; the new facilities would take up 27%.The 30-year-old center court seats 11,815, but the new stadium could welcome 15,000 fans for the annual tournament. The facilities would also be accessible for three seasons thanks to a planned retractable roof, like stadiums in Melbourne, New York, London and elsewhere. Tennis Canada also plans to add outdoor and indoor courts that would be accessible to the public.Beyond tennisReducing the public space for new tennis facilities is out of the question for people mobilizing against the project, who argue their fight is not simply about tennis but about the environment and social justice.The prized public space includes two outdoor pools, baseball and soccer fields, volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts, a skate park and plenty of vegetation. Some of these facilities would have to be moved to allow room for the new tennis center.The Jarry Park pool and the Tennis Canada facilities during the National Bank Open in Montreal, Canada in August 2026. (Tatiana Mulowayi-Pelletier/Courthouse News)The 36-acre-park is in the Parc-Extension neighborhood, one of the densest areas of the city, where green spaces to fight against urban heat islands are hard to come by.“We have 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometer,” said Didier Delfolie-Noulin, a spokesperson for the citizen group Common Front for the Protection of Jarry Park. “I believe 80% of people have no access to a yard.”For the activist, cutting down trees in the context of global warming is nonsensical, especially in an area already vulnerable to heat waves. He questions prioritizing an expensive tennis tournament over residents of one of Montreal’s poorest neighborhoods.“It’s outright environmental racism,” he said.Justine Aguenier, a resident who enjoys the park every day during her lunch break, said: “I’m against it because I want to protect Jarry Park.” She attended an Open match this year and liked the current facilities. “I thought it was enough; I don’t want them to remove the swimming pool and all the other areas of the park that are more important.”Publicly fundedThe project is still in its early stages. When it was first announced in June, Tennis Canada said in a news release a new stadium was the most “sustainable, responsible, practical and forward-looking” option of the modernization plans they considered. According to its website, the organization is in talks with the federal, provincial and municipal governments to secure funding and plans to hold consultations with the community.Radio-Canada reported Tennis Canada estimates the project would cost 400 million Canadian dollars ($288 million), 90% of which would be publicly financed. In 2025, the tournament brought CA$40 million in economic benefits to the organization.The funding is one of the main points of contention for those who oppose the project.“We no longer have money for schools, we no longer have money for hospitals, we no longer have money for children, for the elderly, and now we’re going to take money for professional sports?” Delfolie-Noulin said.In a news release about the project, Valérie Tétreault, National Bank Open Director, said modernizing the facilities is crucial.“The current stadium is nearing the end of its service life and no longer meets the standards of the professional tours,” she said. “Furthermore, it no longer aligns with the needs of the elite players we host or the expectations of our partners. We must therefore act responsibly to safeguard the future of the tournament.”Tennis Canada declined to comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads