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This modest single-deck "temporary" stadium bore many similarities to Houston's Colt Stadium and Seattle's Sick's Stadium. The outfield fences were symmetrical and perpendicular to the foul lines, with dimensions in between those of the other two stadiums. Unlike the other venues, however, the Expos ended up playing here for eight years. Before 1969, Jarry Park was just a public ballpark for amateur games, with only 3,000 seats. The stadium was hurriedly expanded in early 1969, and construction was not completed until late May. There were still big snowpiles around the ballpark when the first major league game was played here on April 13. The new grandstand sections along the foul lines were separated from the original small arc-shaped grandstand in back of home plate, which had a steeper "rake" (slope) than the new sections. (This is indicated by the superimposed profile in the above diagram.)
There is some doubt about the precise distance to center field, which was originally marked as 415 feet, but was later raised to 417 feet and finally (in 1974) to 420 feet. The latter distance may have been to the deepest corners on either side of straightaway center field.
Since this was never intended to be a permanent home for the Expos, it is too bad that they didn't make use of the existing minor league stadium in downtown Montreal, Delorimier Downs, which was built in 1928. There was a lot of history attached to it: in 1946 Jackie Robinson played his first professional games (with the minor league Royals) in Delorimier Downs. The capacity of the old ballpark was only about 20,000, tightly squeezed into the urban street grid, leaving no room for expansion. Delorimier Downs was finally demolished in 1971.
The most outstanding Expos player during the Jarry Park era was red-headed, freckle-faced Rusty Staub. As with Sick's Stadium, the best feature of Jarry Park was that the seats were so close to the playing field. Railroad tracks paralleled the third base foul line, on the southwest side. It was located in a pleasant public park (named Jarry Park) with a large pond, trees, and gardens, located about four miles northwest of downtown Montreal. A scholar at UVa's Miller Center, Timothy Naftali, once told me about his fond childhood memories of Jarry Park and its unique feature beyond the right field fence -- a swimming pool, into which long home runs sometimes splashed.
For many years, Jarry Park remained intact and was used for various sporting events and public gatherings. The structure gradually eroded, however, and in 1995 a comprehensive reconstruction project began. All of the grandstand except for the original curved part behind home plate was demolished or dismantled, as Jarry Park was converted for use as a venue for professional tennis tournaments. A rectangular grandstand now surrounds center court, the middle of which is located about where home plate once was. Musical concerts are ofted performed there. In April 2004, the Jarry Park Tennis Center was officially renamed "Stade Uniprix," after a leading pharmaceutical chain in Quebec.
SOURCES: Lowry (1992), Ritter (1992), Gershman (1993), wikipedia.org, stadeuniprix.com
