The Stade Olympique is Montreal's white elephant stadium located in the Olympic Park and was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics (albeit in an unfinished form). the Montreal Expos played in the stadium from 1977 to 2004. During the Expos' final years in Montreal, the stadium was covered with grime and much of the concrete was chipped, stained, and soiled. Because of the costly maintenance, continual structural problems, and having lost its primary function as a professional league baseball stadium, the government wants to demolish the stadium, which may cost $500,000,000. Despite the stadium being a white elephant, I do NOT want it demolished. How will the stadium be demolished if it is attached to the Tour de Montreal? It may involve demolishing the Tower. Because of thi, we cannot tear down the Olympic stadium. We could try to convert the stadium to something else like the nearby Velodrome, or restore it to its planned 1976 condition and make the Alouettes return to full-time play at the stadium.

Isn't there a new plan for a new roof I heard recently ?

Why is this even a thread, no one wants to destroy it, its fine as it is.

I started this thread because the Olympic Stadium is threatened with demolition and we don't want it dead.

Actually there is not much use of the Olympic Stadium nowaday the only biggest draw of spectators for the usable stadium as such could be used for football like the Alouettes but then you have to completely renovate it to suit the game perfectly also can be used for Soccer as well

I started this thread because the Olympic Stadium is threatened with demolition and we don't want it dead.

Where did you here this? :)

I've wondered to myself how long would its demolition last.....^^ sounds like it's just its reputation that's slowly being chipped at...

Where did you here this? :)

Stupid Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is not a news source.

There has been absolutely no news talking about the destruction of the Stadium. It ain't going anywhere!

As said before, one improvement would be to get rid of the stadium's roof. While this may reduce its seasonal use (8 months only perhaps) at least with natural light the joy of being in the stadium would increase. This was how the stadium operated in the 70s and 80s. The roof did nothing for the stadium's atmosphere. Also without a roof I'm sure operating costs would be reduced and there would be no more embaracing and very expensive repairs to address.

As said before, one improvement would be to get rid of the stadium's roof. While this may reduce its seasonal use (8 months only perhaps) at least with natural light the joy of being in the stadium would increase. This was how the stadium operated in the 70s and 80s. The roof did nothing for the stadium's atmosphere. Also without a roof I'm sure operating costs would be reduced and there would be no more embaracing and very expensive repairs to address.

There will be a new metal roof installed Black Cat. The stadium has had to close from dec to mar due to safety issues with the current roof and snow.

SNC-Lavalin remplacerait le toit du Stade Olympique
Mise en ligne 06/05/2008 07h20

La PRESSE CANADIENNE
MONTREAL -- Le Stade olympique de Montréal aura bientôt un nouveau toit rigide qui serait conçu par SNC-Lavalin (SNC).
C'est du moins ce qu'espère la Régie des installations olympiques, qui n'a pas encore réglé la question du financement.
La Presse écrit que les travaux en vue d'installer le nouveau toit pourraient débuter au lendemain de la présentation du match de la Coupe Grey de la Ligue canadienne de football, en novembre prochain. La RIO souhaiterait aussi qu'on rénove certains éléments du Stade, dont son système de sonorisation.
Il pourrait enfin être utilisé toute l'année. Sa dernière toile s'étant déchirée il y a 10 ans, la surface de jeu est condamnée chaque année de l'automne au printemps, soit entre novembre et avril.
On ignore le montant prévu des travaux, la RIO et SNC-Lavalin étant toujours en négociations.

http://argent.canoe.com/infos/quebec/archives/2008/05/20080506-072751.html

I walked around the olympic stadium whilst I was in Montreal and there was not a soul around considering it was a fantastic summer day! What is the capacity of the stadium? I'm not knowledgeable of the stadia in the region but wouldn't it be viable to develop it as a concert arena? If they had a good team behind the scenes I'm sure they could attract big acts and fill the arena up on a regular basis.

I walked around the olympic stadium whilst I was in Montreal and there was not a soul around considering it was a fantastic summer day! What is the capacity of the stadium? I'm not knowledgeable of the stadia in the region but wouldn't it be viable to develop it as a concert arena? If they had a good team behind the scenes I'm sure they could attract big acts and fill the arena up on a regular basis.

The Olympic Stadium usually leaves a bad taste in Montrealers mouthes. Mostly because it cost soooo much money to build and also because its falling apart.

The seating capacity of the Big "O"(built in 1976) is approx 65,000, but that can be easily increased to over 75,000. Whenever big stars come they used to play at the Big "O". Ie: U2, Rolling Stones. But seeing as the roof is unsafe during the winter months, the big stars now go to the Bell Centre. Instead of staying in town for one night, they usualy play two nights at the Bell Centre.

Other venues in Montreal include the Bell Centre(Built in 1996). The arena in North America with the Largest capacity(approx. 21,500). I was there last friday night to see Stone Temple Pilots. The sound quality is much better at the Bell Centre.(compared to the Olympic Stadium)

We also have the Percival Molson Stadium up on Mont-Royal(built in 1914)...but it's somewhat small. (it can seat 20,500 people) It will be expanded to 25,500 seats in the next year. It belongs to McGill University, and the Montreal Allouettes play football there.

Then there's Uniprix Stadium(Built in 1996), where they usually hold the Rogers Cup(tennis) every year. It is also used for boxing(they put a huge tarp over the ring)! It's capacity is approx 12,000.

And then there's the brand new Saputo Stadium. It was inaugurated earlier this year and can seat about 13,300 fans. It can be expanded to about 18,000 seats and most likely will when the Montreal Impact(Soccer) join Major League Soccer.

what to do with the stadium? Tear it down is what I'd like to see. IT does nothing, its ugly and costs too much money!

^^ I don't care. I have suddenly stopped caring about those issues, because if we tear the stadium down, that means we would have to tear down the tower and aquatics centre that is actually attached to the stadium.

what to do with the stadium? Tear it down is what I'd like to see. IT does nothing, its ugly and costs too much money!

It's too late now ,they should have though about it before building the Saputo place there ... and Ugly ? no I don't think so ,It's an interesting design that's why it became Montreal iconic building ever since ,no one really putting the Demolition idea on the table of the City hall right now so I think it will be safe for a while... don't forget Black and blue Party is still a regular event that takes place at the big O every year people as a matter of fact see you all there this October :lol:

Don't forget the Grey Cup in November! Like that's not going to have a huge economic impact on Montreal!

No Big O, no Grey Cup. It makes no economic sense to tear down the Big O, just like it made no sense to tear down Vancouver's BC Place Stadium and so it will in fact get a Retractable Roof after 2010.

How many did the Big O hold in 1976? Wasn't its seating capacity bigger then and they took out some seating?

^^ You got that right my friend :)

How many did the Big O hold in 1976? Wasn't its seating capacity bigger then and they took out some seating?

There were more than 72,000 people in the Big O for the Opening and closing ceremonies!

It makes no economic sense to tear down the Big O



How about the $20 million a year in inkeeping?


But my personal beef with the big owe isn't with the fact tat its empty, that can change in time but rather the fact that I just find it butt ugly, its falling apart and its got such a negative history behind it.

How about the $20 million a year in inkeeping?


But my personal beef with the big owe isn't with the fact tat its empty, that can change in time but rather the fact that I just find it butt ugly, its falling apart and its got such a negative history behind it.

Is it " Really " falling apart or they just want to tear it down so that some construction company will make a profit to build a new one , because as a city of Montreal size we are going to need on big ass stadium like this anyway

Is it " Really " falling apart or they just want to tear it down so that some construction company will make a profit to build a new one , because as a city of Montreal size we are going to need on big ass stadium like this anyway

Al is exagerating a little. It isn't really falling apart. However over the years there have been some problems!

Now it's only a question of fixing the roof.

I remember when it opened, and they had a HUGE, completely sold out Pink Floyd concert!! Most of you are waaaaay too young to remember Pink Floyd. Anyway, all of Canada was pretty damn proud of this gorgeous, futuristic new stadium that didn't look like anything we had ever seen before. It is heartbreaking to see what it has all come to. I still have my Canon Ftd camera from 1976 that has the Montreal Olympics symbol on the lens cover! :D

The stadium still looks good. For a design that is now some 35 years old, the Stadium still looks futuristic. Like some kind of spaceship.

The reason why many in Québec don't like it is that the construction of the stadium was delayed numerous times because of the strikes and the cost of this thing which was supposed to cost something like 200 million$ ended up costing 1.5 billion$.

Smokers were still paying for the Big O up until 2006(huge taxes on cigarettes).

The other reason why many people don't like going to the Big O is that it is far from Downtown, and unless you take the metro to get there, it's a pain in the ass to get out there!(there's nothing else around it!)

Now that it is paid, it needs to be upkept and that costs some money(about 20 million$ per year). If they could fix the damn roof, they could go back to have the autoshow in the Big O(instead of the convention centre), they can have the Boat show, the housing show etc... they can have large concerts, the Black and Blue rave, the Bal en Blanc rave, they can continue to play Alouettes Playoff games in there etc...If we were to destroy it, Montreal would not have a major stadium. The second largest stadium in the city is Percival Molson Stadium and it is much too small. Can you imagine a north American city of close to 4 million people without a major stadium??? I don't!

If they fix the roof and upkeep the place, it can still have many uses!

I remember when it opened, and they had a HUGE, completely sold out Pink Floyd concert!! Most of you are waaaaay too young to remember Pink Floyd. Anyway, all of Canada was pretty damn proud of this gorgeous, futuristic new stadium that didn't look like anything we had ever seen before. It is heartbreaking to see what it has all come to. I still have my Canon Ftd camera from 1976 that has the Montreal Olympics symbol on the lens cover! :D

I remember going to the Big O back in 92 for the Guns n' Roses/ Metallica Concert. I was 16 years old and it was my first big concert. Talk about bad luck! Fvcking Axel Rose...the riots...etc...nice memories!

I remember when it opened, and they had a HUGE, completely sold out Pink Floyd concert!! Most of you are waaaaay too young to remember Pink Floyd. Anyway, all of Canada was pretty damn proud of this gorgeous, futuristic new stadium that didn't look like anything we had ever seen before. It is heartbreaking to see what it has all come to. I still have my Canon Ftd camera from 1976 that has the Montreal Olympics symbol on the lens cover! :D

Hey Taller, my first camera was a Canon FTb! I saved up all of my paper route money and walked into Black's in London with 329$ in rolled coin etc. It weighed a ton compared to today's cameras but it was a great machine.

Get outta town!! :eek2: I'm shocked anyone has heard of it. I got it about one year before they came out with an "automatic" model; the AE1. Yes, the camera weighed a ton, but it was a great unit. I also remember it cost me what I considered a FORTUNE at the time. No point trying to trade it in at Henry's, or another camera shop, as they sell used ones for only around $150. No one wants film cameras any more, except the odd pro. I saw my first digital camera around 1986... a friend who was a pro bought one, and was trying to explain this magical device to me. I couldn't wrap my head around the concept of transferring photos into one of those crazy newfangled computer things!! :D

Get outta town!! :eek2: I'm shocked anyone has heard of it. I got it about one year before they came out with an "automatic" model; the AE1. Yes, the camera weighed a ton, but it was a great unit. I also remember it cost me what I considered a FORTUNE at the time. No point trying to trade it in at Henry's, or another camera shop, as they sell used ones for only around $150. No one wants film cameras any more, except the odd pro.

I loved it and even had the Olympic lens cap as I bought it that spring. I loaned it to a friend for his European trip about 5 years later and he left it on the plane. I replaced it with a Nikon FE2 and was a Nikon guy after that until I had my F-3 stolen in Scotland a few years ago. Still saving for the digital of my dreams...

Invest in an SLR... you can get amazing deals, particularly if you go reconditioned or second hand. Well worth it! ;)

The stadium still looks good. For a design that is now some 35 years old, the Stadium still looks futuristic. Like some kind of spaceship.

If they fix the roof and upkeep the place, it can still have many uses!

They are apparently replacing the roof with a permanent metal one habsfan. That will make it usable year-round once again. I hope that they will restore the seating back to the full oval style. The baseball setup up really f*cked it up.

Don't forget, we wouldn't have been able to have the soccer U-20 last year or the Outgames in 2006 without the Big O. The U-20 drew crowds that were the biggest of the tournament and the Outgames were a huge success. It's estimated that 70% of tourists to the city visit Olympic Park and Black and Blue has turned into the biggest circuit party in the world. The economic benifits of that one all-nighter alone are estimated at over 25$ million and it's too big to be held anywhere but the Big O. It has become a legendary international event.

Here's a promo video for Black and Blue 2007. The first 2 minutes are interviews. Looks pretty crazy!

SYi372xYKKA

Montréal’s Black and Blue Goes on a Power Trip

The legendary Bad Boy Club of Montréal (BBCM) is putting the final touches on Black & Blue 2007,the award-winning week-long party, fundraiser, and cultural celebration, that annually transforms Montréal into party capital of the world from October 3rd - 9th. The theme for this year’s BBCM main event on October 7th is "Power Trip".
For the occasion, the interior of Montréal’s massive Olympic Stadium will be dressed up like a giant fantasy power station, with high tech decorations and lighting effects, along with electrifying costumes and performances, charging two megadance floors throughout the night.

This year marks the 17th anniversary of the Black and Blue Festival, which draws some 85,000 participants each year, making it one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. In fact, according to a study conducted by the marketing research firm CROP, the Black and Blue Festival brings an estimated $35 million to the regional economy each year, $25 million of which is generated by the main event in the Olympic Stadium alone.

Boasting a diverse, international crowd, Black and Blue—which topped Edge New York’s list of Best Circuit Events in 2006 and was voted the Best International Festival by Pink TV in France— brings together people of all ages, nationalities, backgrounds and sexual orientations in one mega-celebration of music, dancing, and non-stop fun.

“The Black and Blue holds a special spot on the calendar of major gay and gay-friendly events around the world,” says Robert Vézina, co-founder of the BBCM Foundation. “Over the years, the event has become a must for anyone who wants to experience a truly unique, world class party that is also typically Montréalaise.”

One of the most unifying factors of Black and Blue is the music, and BBCM has commissioned some of the world’s best-loved DJs to pump up the festival, including DJ Stéfane Lippé and international icons Mark Anthony and Mistress Barbara from Montréal, Peter Rauhofer and Manny Lehman from New York, D-formation from Spain, Gabriel Dresden from San Francisco, Michael Kaiser from Paris, and Craig Mitchell from Boston. And for the first time ever, the main event on October 7 will feature two completely separate spaces, one spinning non-stop house, the other featuring more alternative and progressive dance music

In addition to providing world class entertainment, the BBCM Foundation has already raised more than 1.25 million dollars for Montréal’s AIDS and LGBT support organizations since its establishment in 1991. Altogether, the BBCM has provided financial support to more than 30 organizations, including the region’s two largest AIDS support resources, AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM) and AIDS Direct Help Foundation of Montreal (FADSM).

For a complete list of 2007 Black and Blue festivities, go to: www.bbcm.org.
http://www.navigaytion.com/page.cfm?Sectionid=1&typeofsite=snippetdetail&ID=1108&snippetset=yes&regionid=43&region=CA%20-%20Ontario

the Black and Blue Festival brings an estimated $35 million to the regional economy each year, $25 million of which is generated by the main event in the Olympic Stadium alone.


Holy Shit! I had no idea that the Black and Blue festival was that big!!

Holy Shit! I had no idea that the Black and Blue festival was that big!!
Since the early '90s, habsfan! Montréal ain't that tiny, Bébé!!



Most of you are waaaaay too young to remember Pink Floyd.
But never young enough for you though, right Taller, Better? :) My tall titch of a 20-yr-old brother would like you; Pink Floyd's a superbe band.

Since the early '90s, habsfan! Montréal ain't that tiny, Bébé!!

I know that Black and Blue has been around for over 15 years, what I was saying as that I had no idea that it brought in soo much money to the city!:colgate:

The stadium needs to be more adaptive to facilitate all the events it hosts, retractable seating would to a lot for this. It would widen the stadium floors for conventions, provide better views for soccer, football and maybe even hockey (the habs would sell out the stadium) not only that but Montreal is considering a bid for the 2022 Winter Games with lake placid so we need the stadium. and that roof will play a big part in making the stadium useful especially if the acoustics are done properly

is montreal realy considering to winter olympics??? that would be great actualy....

Love that idea eventhough the chance is sooo slim

is montreal realy considering to winter olympics??? that would be great actualy....

I would also like to see winter games in Montreal, but i doubt it'll happen!

^^The days of holding the Winter Olympics in tiny towns or even small cities are over. There just aren't that many big cities that are suitable to stage the event, so the IOC will be looking to cities like Montreal and Vancouver. People perceive Montreal as a Summer Olympics city, but Montreal could very well become the first city in the world to host both.

I'd love to see Quebec City get it, but Montreal would probably have a better chance.

Wow ! Very encouraging Isaidso ! even if we won't have it soon but if there are people who is aiming for that goal who knows maybe we will get it sometimes in the near future hehe

I'd love to see Quebec City get it, but Montreal would probably have a better chance.

I also thikn Q.C. would be a perfect choice for the Winter games, but what makes you think that Montreal has a better chance of getting the winter games apart from the fact that it is a bigger city?

Is there any mountains by Montreal?

Is there any mountains by Montreal?


There are the Laurentians which are for the most part less than 1 hour north of the city. Mont Tremblant is about 75 minutes away from Downtown Montreal.

Then there are some other mountains in the eastern Townships (Mont Orford, Mont Sutton, Bromont) which are less than an hour away from Montreal.

The idea is to use existing installations and to break a few record by being the only city to host both the summer and winter Olympic games as well as the being the first international games.if Montreal teams up with Lake Placid is kida cool. Montreal will also host the Olympic games before QC because Montreal has better installations including a Large International Airport, Arenas (Bell Center, Maurice Richard arena and Big O), A large and efficient mass transit system which links them all together, its closer to cities like NY, Boston, Philly and Toronto and it has a larger population and corporate base than QC.

I was wondering, would Montreal be the first city to get both winter and summer olympics in history? And I heard the only mountain tall enough to hold Super G in Quebec (I think, not like I know that much about this stuff) is Le Massif in Charlevoix. But it doesn't matter if the mountain is 600 km away, look at the games in China, some events are scattered all over the country.

^^The days of holding the Winter Olympics in tiny towns or even small cities are over. There just aren't that many big cities that are suitable to stage the event, so the IOC will be looking to cities like Montreal and Vancouver. People perceive Montreal as a Summer Olympics city, but Montreal could very well become the first city in the world to host both.

I'd love to see Quebec City get it, but Montreal would probably have a better chance.

Ah I see you answered my question there. By the way, Sochi (who will hold the 2014 Olympics) has a population of about 400 000, it's almost twice smaller as Q.C.

Is there any mountains by Montreal?
NY State's northern Adirondacks is the closest range, I believe...it didn't take long to cycle up to them from the island city here...

Stade Olympique / Olympic Stadium :: Montreal, Québec

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3125/2763763274_322d8034fd_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2762920131_f29df2d67d_b.jpg

Zhå-or'que :: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10961326@N07/2762920131/

The first photo is beautiful wow. :)

thoes are amazing pictures another reason why we must protect the olympic stadium and make it sustainable

The Stade Olympique is Montreal's white elephant stadium located in the Olympic Park and was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics (albeit in an unfinished form). the Montreal Expos played in the stadium from 1977 to 2004. During the Expos' final years in Montreal, the stadium was covered with grime and much of the concrete was chipped, stained, and soiled. Because of the costly maintenance, continual structural problems, and having lost its primary function as a professional league baseball stadium, the government wants to demolish the stadium, which may cost $500,000,000. Despite the stadium being a white elephant, I do NOT want it demolished. How will the stadium be demolished if it is attached to the Tour de Montreal? It may involve demolishing the Tower. Because of thi, we cannot tear down the Olympic stadium. We could try to convert the stadium to something else like the nearby Velodrome, or restore it to its planned 1976 condition and make the Alouettes return to full-time play at the stadium.

How about turning it into an outdoor museum?

I am not sure if anyone posted this before, if not then it is a good read.

Architects invited to compete on planetarium project

The Gazette

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Architects who dream of reaching for the stars can take part in an innovative design competition for Montreal's planned $33-million planetarium.

The new facility, to be known as the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, is to be built between Olympic Stadium and the Biodôme. It will replace the downtown planetarium, which opened in 1966.

The competition will be in two phases. Initially, architects will be asked to submit concepts and sketches of what they think the building should look like.

"It is an anonymous contest, and it will be judged by a nine-person jury with vast experience," said Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, executive director of Muséums nature Montréal, the municipal agency that oversees the city's nature museums.

"It won't be an international competition. That would be too expensive and time consuming. Foreign architects can submit an entry if they want."

The jurors will put five of the initial ideas on a short list.

The second phase of the competition will involve turning the five winning concepts into working blueprints, and choosing the winner from among them.

The jurors include Stéphane Roy, a conceptual designer with the Cirque du Soleil; Marc Boutin, an architect at the University of Calgary; Lise Anne Couture, a New York architect, and local architects and designers Luc Courchesne, Louis Bédard and Nils Larsson.

Rio Tinto Alcan is to contribute $4 million toward the project. The remaining costs are to be shared by the federal, provincial and municipal governments. The planetarium is to open in 2011.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2008

This is great news!

With the Biodome, it will bring some much needed life to that part of town!

It is indeed! The Big O is part of Montreal's history.

Cities across the world are bringing forth intelligent designers to come up with innovative ways to re-vamp entire neighborhood that do not work well in the city. Montreal should do something similar with the Big O site, and it wont be as hard because nearly all the infrastructure needed is already there.

Montreal should use Olympic Stadium for Soccer that could become very popular in Canada.

Rather looks like an erect penis:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2762920131_f29df2d67d_b.jpg

Montreal should use Olympic Stadium for Soccer that could become very popular in Canada.

Although I agree with you on this one, It will never happen since they just built a soccer stadium (Saputo Stadium) right next to the Big O, And Montreal's Impact soccer team just removed its bid from the MLS so now not even an expansion of Saputo stadium will be realistic :ohno:

Montreal should use Olympic Stadium for Soccer that could become very popular in Canada.

I disagree. One of the MAJOR turnoffs for me is empty seats at events. You'll never fill Olympic Stadium for a MLS game or anything like that.

that's why I'm attracted to BMO field in Toronto for games. Always packed, always rowdy. Admit it, 20,000 fans in Olympic Stadium would look extremely poor.

A friend of mine told me that around the turn of the '80s it was possible to buy a ticket for a lousy dollar and have yourself a great day spending it way! up the rafters inside the Big O.....incredible.

A friend of mine told me that around the turn of the '80s it was possible to buy a ticket for a lousy dollar and have yourself a great day spending it way! up the rafters inside the Big O.....incredible.



I don't know if the tickets were really 1$, but I do know that for a couple of years in the early-mid 80's the Montreal Supra(soccer) used to fill up the Big O.

I disagree. One of the MAJOR turnoffs for me is empty seats at events. You'll never fill Olympic Stadium for a MLS game or anything like that.

that's why I'm attracted to BMO field in Toronto for games. Always packed, always rowdy. Admit it, 20,000 fans in Olympic Stadium would look extremely poor.

Half-filled arenas are a major turnoff for me too! It doesn't matter what size the venue is, heaps of empty seats suck.

I was at the Big O for the U 20 Korea/Poland match a couple of summers ago and there were 45,000 people there. The tournament as a whole averaged 40,000 per game and not all of those matches were big drawing nations (Czech/Panama comes to mind) and two matches were complete sell-outs.

I don't think that the Impact would sell 55,000 each game but then there's no reason to play indoors during the regular season. Saputo Stadium is soccer-specific, natural grass, and sells out at slightly less than 14,000. I'm pretty sure that it would sell out at 20,000 as well. The thing is: we have 2 CONCACAF matches vs Santos Laguna coming up in February and they can't be played outdoors. Due to a partial roof collapse in 1999, they need approval from 3 government agencies to hold the matches in the Big O. Since there haven't been any problems in the last 9 years, I imagine approval will be forthcoming.

There is a plan for SNC Lavalin to replace the roof with a new all-metal structure as well as to restore the seating back to a complete oval (get rid of that #&?$@% score-thingy abomination!). The tentative start date was immediately after the Grey Cup but it's been postponed.

It is indeed! The Big O is part of Montreal's history.

Cities across the world are bringing forth intelligent designers to come up with innovative ways to re-vamp entire neighborhood that do not work well in the city. Montreal should do something similar with the Big O site, and it wont be as hard because nearly all the infrastructure needed is already there.

Ashok, I've been following this project for a while and it looks pretty cool. Moving the Planetarium to Parc Olympique is part of an ongoing plan to make that area a centre for natural science museums. Adding the Planetarium to the Biodome, Insectarium and Jardin Botanique is a great idea. It will attract even more people.

These are the 2007 visitor numbers from Tourisme Montréal:

Biodome 741,000
Jardin Botanique/Insectarium 847,000
Planetarium 112,000
Parc Olympique:
Observatoire 210,000
Guided tours 30,000

Keep in mind that 2007 was a bad year compared to earlier in the decade due to the American economy. That also doesn't include events like Canadian swimming and diving championships at the Aquatic Centre, the Grey Cup and various monster trucks, raves, home shows.. Le Salon de l'amour et de la Séduction.. YEOW! etc at the Big O. That area is already a huge tourist draw and there's room for more.

http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/museumsnature/ses.htm

I have to add the link for the Salon de l'Amour, what a great place to take your girlfriend!!
http://www.amouretseduction.com/index.html

move an NBA team to montreal and turn it into a stadium

a man can dream can't he?

I don't know if the tickets were really 1$
Ahh, so now my friend's a fibber....hmmm....take a trip yourself up to the "nosebleed" section (which still costs just a few calories): :bash:

move an NBA team to montreal and turn it into a stadium

a man can dream can't he?


Wouldn't the ball team rather play in the already outstanding Centre Bell!

move an NBA team to montreal and turn it into a stadium


Wouldn't the ball team rather play in the already outstanding Centre Bell!

Apparently, we have a minor league Basketball team in Montreal and they play out of Centre Claude Charbonneau. Basketball in this city is almost non -existant. There isn't much support for it. An NBA team would fail miserably...nobody cares much for that sport in Québec.

Ahh, so now my friend's a fibber

NO! What I'm saying is that I do not doubt that the Big O used to sell out in the 80's because of the Montreal Manic, but what I doubt is that all the tickets were 1$ each.

take a trip yourself up to the "nosebleed" section (which still costs just a few calories

Been there done that. One of the last times I was up in the nosebleeds(3 rows from the roof) was back in 92' for the Metallica/Guns N' Roses fiasco/riot. I was 16 years old and it was my first concert. The sound in the big O was horrible, and Axel Rose pissed off 60,000 Drunk/stoned fans! What a douchebag!:ohno:

I do believe the last time i was up there was for the season opener in back in 1997. Pedro martinez was pitching that home opener!

back in 92' for the Metallica/Guns N' Roses fiasco/riot. I was 16
At that age in '82, my friend paid the entrance fee outta pocket money.

At that age in '82, my friend paid the entrance fee outta pocket money.

I'm not sure exactly where you're trying to go with this?

All I know is that back in 92', I paid somethign like 45$ for those tickets(Guns/Metallica Concert) and the sound really sucked. there was a 2 second delay with teh echo!

Its the fiberglass, and kevlar in the roof that causes the echo, with the new roof they should do something to make the accoustics better also there is a baseball dimond shaped grass over the B parking lot. it is currently where the allouettes practice and between saputo stadium and the big O how bout a minor league baseball stadium there 6000 seats (maybe a canam or minor league league team. quebec city has one)

I'm just entering this thread, so forgive me if this topic has already been covered. I think the biggest problem with the 'O' is the miles of concrete surrounding it. It's a beautiful building, and should be kept intact for it's original use, but the surrounding Olympic plaza needs to be scrapped.

The only thing I can think of off of the top of my head is just to make it a more desirable place to be. Turn it into a park with trees and grass, or maybe introduce a large reflecting pool that doubles as a massive skating rink (think, Canada's largest urban skating rink).

I totally agree,get rid of all that concrete,even when the stadium was in use I found the area around it very unfriendly.

^^ There's a new devellopement that is supposed to start soon that will replace the concrete with grass or something like this.

Here is the article, unfortunatly, I only have it in french.

Publié le 12 août 2009 à 05h45 | Mis à jour à 08h01


Le secteur du stade passe au vert

En plus de la Ville, la Régie des installations olympiques prendra aussi des initiatives dans le secteur. «C'est trop bétonné à notre goût, dit Sylvie Bastien, porte-parole de la RIO. Ça pourrait faire un lien visuel vert.» Avec l'apport de la RIO, le projet dépassera les 200 millions d'investissements.

Éric Clément
La Presse


La Ville de Montréal, les Muséums nature de Montréal ainsi que les gouvernements fédéral et provincial lanceront en septembre un ambitieux projet à la fois touristique, muséal et écologique appelé le Quartier de la vie, a appris La Presse. Le secteur du Jardin botanique et les abords du Stade olympique seront reliés par une «immense place publique interactive». Le projet total est évalué à 189 millions de dollars.

Cinq institutions en feront partie: le Biodôme, le Jardin botanique, le Planétarium et l'Insectarium, de même que le futur Centre sur la biodiversité. Le Quartier de la vie aura pour but de prolonger la mission des quatre muséums, soit de faire connaître et apprécier les sciences de la nature et la nature elle-même aux générations présentes et futures. Ces quatre muséums représentent déjà le plus grand complexe muséal de sciences naturelles au Canada.

Le Quartier de la vie sera une expérience sociale et environnementale inédite pour le visiteur. «Rien à voir avec du show-business ou des activités commerciales habituelles, nous dit une source proche du concepteur. Les activités seront en phase avec les valeurs fondamentales des gens, pour qu'ils se reconnectent avec la nature et pour que, à terme, un citoyen qui trouve un papier par terre le ramasse même si ce n'est pas le sien.»

La place publique qui sera créée partira de la station de métro Viau et se prolongera près du Biodôme et du nouveau Planétarium, qui sera construit d'ici à l'été 2011 au pied de la tour du Stade olympique. Elle se rendra ensuite jusqu'au Centre sur la biodiversité, près du Jardin botanique, en passant sous la rue Sherbrooke. «Il s'agira de la première place publique mondiale dédiée à l'humain et à la nature», nous dit la même source.


Ce ne sera pas une place comme les autres. On n'y trouvera pas de parasols, de tables ou de chaises en plastique. Le lieu rendra hommage à la nature, et les citoyens pourront l'aménager à leur façon, par exemple... en déplaçant des «arbres sur roulettes» ou en érigeant des bâtiments écologiques. Le touriste pourra s'approprier les lieux et participer au façonnement de la place, qui évoluera dans le temps au gré des initiatives et des réalisations des visiteurs.

Parmi les aménagements qui pourraient être bâtis, on pourrait, par exemple, construire des restaurants sur pilotis en bambou, pour que même les concessions alimentaires soient conformes à l'esprit des lieux. «La facture sera toujours inusitée et audacieuse», nous dit-on.

On prévoit que 2,7 millions de personnes participeront chaque année à l'expérience. Le projet lancé par les Muséums nature est coordonné avec la Régie des installations olympiques puisqu'il s'agit de ses terrains. La RIO prendra aussi des initiatives dans le secteur. L'esplanade de béton située au coin du boulevard Pie-IX deviendra verte dans la deuxième phase du projet. «C'est trop bétonné à notre goût, dit Sylvie Bastien, porte-parole de la RIO. Ça pourrait faire un lien visuel vert.» Avec la RIO, le projet total dépassera les

200 millions.

L'investissement consenti par la Ville, soit 189 millions, proviendra du programment triennal d'immobilisations et de subventions fédérales et provinciales. La somme comprend les coûts de construction du Planétarium (33 millions) et du Centre sur la biodiversité (24,5 millions), la création de la place publique (30 millions) et les coûts liés à la mise aux normes et à l'amélioration des muséums nature.

Ainsi, on créera au Biodôme un nouvel écosystème consacré à l'humain, «une espèce en équilibre avec la nature, essentielle à sa survie». À l'Insectarium, les visiteurs pourront défier leurs peurs et vivre des expériences «d'immersion entomologique» afin d'apprendre à mieux vivre avec les insectes.

La création du Planétarium est financée par Québec, Ottawa, Montréal et Rio Tinto Alcan, qui donnera son nom à l'édifice moyennant 4 millions. Quant au Centre sur la biodiversité, les travaux de construction commenceront ces jours-ci près du Jardin botanique. Le bâtiment, voué à la recherche scientifique, à la conservation et à la valorisation de collections biologiques, à la promotion de la préservation des espèces et au transfert des connaissances, sera inauguré l'an prochain.

Les élus du comité exécutif ont découvert le projet du Quartier de la vie la semaine dernière et l'ont bien accueilli. «C'est un projet extraordinaire pour le développement de Montréal, nous a dit, hier, un membre de l'administration municipale. Il va permettre la mise en valeur de tout un quartier, au coeur de l'arrondissement Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, et va grandement contribuer à améliorer la stature internationale de Montréal.»

very good news! Thanks FFJ :banana:

A bit of trivia about the big O the all time attendance record of 82,000 was set by Pink Floyd on July 6 in 1977, tickets were $10 (plus 50 cents service charge) having attended that concert I must say the show was a bit of a turkey, the sound was awful and quite frankly so was the band (and I'm a fan of floyd) I didn't see Waters spit at a fan but I do remember him telling the people to shut the fu*K up and I also remember not seeing Gilmour for the final "blues" encore apparently he was too upset over the band's performance to come back on stage

Have smb. the Bauer D., Bouzaiene H., Gauthier Y. 1998. Design of the Montreal Olympic Stadium Roof

Hi I am looking for e book Stadium ATLAS - Technical Recommendations for Grandstands in Modern Stadia
TKS
Happy New Year

Seems like it will be getting a new roof soon. :)

any render of the new roof? :)

any render of the new roof? :)

I have not seen any so far. :cheers:

Any details about the roof? Is it supposed to be similar to the current one? I sure hope not. I wish that they somehow do figure out a retractble solution or at least come up with something that lets in maximum amount of sunlight.

There was a scale model of a proposed idea for a new retractable roof in today's edition of 24H (the one you get in the metro). I don't have a scanner but I have the paper itself... hmm...

EDIT: Found the article online: http://24hmontreal.canoe.ca/24hmontreal/actualites/archives/2010/09/20100916-153728.html


http://www.24hmontreal.canoe.ca/galeries/20100916193619_stadeolympiquetoit/01.jpg
http://www.24hmontreal.canoe.ca/galeries/20100916193619_stadeolympiquetoit/05.jpg
http://www.24hmontreal.canoe.ca/galeries/20100916193619_stadeolympiquetoit/03.jpg

Stade olympique : Dessau veut un toit rétractable

Même si la Régie des installations olympiques (RIO) exige qu’un toit fixe et rigide remplace la toiture actuelle du Stade olympique, la firme de génie-conseil Dessau a présenté au public, jeudi, son projet de toit rétractable, assurant qu’il s’agit toujours de la meilleure solution envisageable.

Le projet en question a été déposé en annexe à un autre projet proposant un toit fixe, le 27 août dernier, à la date limite de l’avis d’intention qui avait été lancé en juin dernier.

Le toit rétractable conçu par le fabricant québécois François Delaney, des laboratoires CFD permet, selon le vice-président de Dessau, Frédéric Sauriol, « de faire valoir qu’il existe maintenant une nouvelle option pour le nouveau toit du stade ». C’est pourquoi la firme s’est associée avec le fabricant.

Mécanique élémentaire

Le mécanisme est assez simple à comprendre. À l’état fermé, le toit est formé par deux coupoles d’acier collées l’une à l’autre et supportées par quatre paires de câbles reliés au mât.

Lorsqu’on veut rétracter ce toit, il suffit d’activer un jeu de pistons qui fait sortir les rails logés à même la toiture. Une fois déployés, il faut actionner un deuxième jeu de pistons qui déleste les câbles reliés au mât et qui permet au toit de se déposer sur les rails.

À cette étape, il suffit d’activer un système de poulie situé de chaque côté des coupoles qui tirera sur le toit, en le faisant glisser entre les rails.

« Pour illustrer la chose, c’est comme lorsqu’on ouvre le tiroir de bureau. On tire sur le tiroir et il glisse entre les rails jusqu’à l’ouverture complète », explique M. Sauriol.

La RIO demeure fermée

Contactée en après-midi par24H, la RIO a confirmé que l’option du toit rétractable n’est pas envisagée présentement.

« Selon les exigences actuelles, et ce depuis 2005, le prochain toit sur le Stade olympique devra être fixe et rigide », affirme la porte-parole Sylvie Bastien.

« Nous travaillons fort actuellement pour faire allumer la RIO » a répliqué François Delaney, convaincu que son projet est le meilleur et qu’il peut coûter moins cher que les 300 millions avancés pour le projet de SNC-Lavalin, son concurrent.

Un comité indépendant a jusqu’au 30 septembre pour décider de la validité des deux candidatures déposées en août, après quoi le gouvernement du Québec, propriétaires des installations olympiques, sera chargé de décider si un deuxième appel d’offres sera lancé, et si oui, avec quelles conditions.

Cool!

Cool!

I like it too. :yes:

what to do with the stadium? Tear it down is what I'd like to see. IT does nothing, its ugly and costs too much money!

It's not ugly it's one of the most original stadiums in the World by it's style and the time it was built plus it's an icon of the city but i agree it needs ahuge renovation but ir could be used for the CFL alouetes or the Impact once it gets into the MLS for when it ... LOLOLOLOLOL... reaches the final LOLOLOLOLOL