Delorimier Stadium Delorimier Stadium ( ; also known as " Montreal Stadium " , " Hector Racine Stadium " and " Delorimier Downs " ) was a 20 , 000 - seat sports stadium at 2101 Ontario Street East , at the corner of De Lorimier Avenue in the present - day Montreal borough of Ville - Marie . The stadium was home to the Montreal Royals International League baseball team , top farm club of the Brooklyn Dodgers Major League Baseball team , from 1928 to 1960 , and from 1946 to 1953 , home to the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League . Delorimier Downs , as it was originally called , was built by former Major League Baseball manager , George Stallings , Montreal lawyer and politician , Athanase David , and Montreal businessman , Ernest Savard . Among the stadium ' s other local affluent financiers were close friends Lucien Beauregard , Romeo Gauvreau , Hector H . Racine , and Charles E . Trudeau . The stadium opened in May 1928 following a parade and a large inauguration ceremony . Royals ' general manager Frank Shaughnessy had a lighting system installed in the stadium for the 1935 season . The stadium saw the launching of the baseball career of Gene Mauch , who later came back to manage the Montreal Expos , plus future Hall of Fame members Sparky Anderson , Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson , the man who , first debuting in professional baseball with the Montreal Royals in 1946 , would go on to break baseball ' s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 . Other Royals ' players of note include player - turned - actor Chuck Connors and Hall of Fame members Duke Snider , Don Drysdale , Walter Alston , Roy Campanella and Tommy Lasorda . The Montreal Alouettes were founded in 1946 and played there to capacity crowds until 1953 when the team moved to larger facilities . It is where Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Sam Etcheverry made his CFL debut . In 1951 , several association football ( soccer ) teams toured North America . Celtic played an exhibition match at Delorimier Stadium on May 20th against Fulham . In 1957 Celtic returned to Delorimier for a June 9th exhibition match against Tottenham Hotspur . Although six years apart , on both occasions the ticket price was 15¢ . Delorimier Stadium was also the site of a number of professional boxing and wrestling matches . In June 1952 , Walter O ' Malley , Brooklyn Dodgers chief shareholder ( owner ) and president , travelled to Delorimier Stadium to dedicate a plaque to Hector Racine , Montreal Royals owner and team president , and Brooklyn Dodgers Board of Directors member . Delorimier Stadium saw Walter O ' Malley return four years later to attend Hector Racine Memorial Night with a high - ranking delegation of Brooklyn Dodgers , International League and Major League baseball executives . Only this time it was to dedicate a plaque to honor Hector Racine ' s memory . Hector Racine died that same year in Miami , Florida after watching the Brooklyn Dodgers lose to the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game . With Racine in the Delorimier Stadium president ' s office , the Royals won more pennants , playoffs and Little World Series than any club in International League history to date . After the Montreal Royals ceased to operate in 1960 , the stadium saw limited use and was eventually torn down . Prior to the demolition of the stadium , the building was torn down in bits , and the interior was used to house makeshift classrooms as the student population in Quebec grew rapidly ( due to kids staying in school longer ) in the late 1960s ( see External link below ) . The site is now occupied by the Pierre Dupuy School , a secondary school . There is a small stone memorial at the corner of the park ( Ontario and Delorimier ) with a bronze plaque honouring Mr . Robinson ' s accomplishments .