Is it true that the roof and massive crane have never actually been used because they made an arse of it? If this is true, then the stadium is poor as it's actual design and building has never been completed.

^^^^^^

Isn't the stadium now the city zoo and not even used for sports any longer?

There is a zoo in the park but the Expos played in the stadium until they moved to
D.C. last year

I suggest the fine Japanese garden there

Is it true that the roof and massive crane have never actually been used because they made an arse of it? If this is true, then the stadium is poor as it's actual design and building has never been completed.

I think it worked once, but somehow it wouldn't work again. The current roof was built shortly afterwards as a permananet roof and can't even possibly be opened.

The Biodome (not a traditional zoo) isn't where the stadium is, but where the Velodrome was. From Wikipedia:

The Montreal Biodome is a facility located in Montreal that allows visitors to walk through replicas of four ecosystems found in the Americas: a tropical forest, a Laurentian forest, an estuary habitat modeled on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and a polar area divided into Arctic and Antarctic zones. All the exhibits are housed inside the Velodrome (cycling stadium) that was used for the 1976 Summer Olympics, with each of the four environments taking up a portion of the stadium. A variety of animals live in each simulated habitat, ranging from macaws in the tropical forest to lynx in the Laurentian forest to penguins in the Antarctic zone.

The Olympic Stadium is now a multi-purpose facility, with trade shows and I think there are still some sporting events.

That Olympics was a complete and utter shambles from what I heard infact I've heard that the city is still paying it off.

I saw the Expos there three seasons ago. The place is enormous. If it was in Europe they would easily have crammed in more seats.

It's a shame the last few seasons (ten maybe?) they even closed the upper deck. Only parts of the stadium were open to the public during the Expos games.

http://img28.exs.cx/img28/8324/69montrealest3zj17cz.jpg
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/2283/279115308d9e6f4363b7tb.jpg
http://img283.echo.cx/img283/3591/montrealstadetrek5uz.jpg
it's still a spoting facility not a zoo

True, the 1976 Olympic games were a financial disaster, but despite its problems Stade Olympique is still one of the most beautiful stadiums ever. I heard Montreal will end the special Olympic related taxes this year. Perhaps they can celebrate by hosting the Olmypics again, lol.

That Olympics was a complete and utter shambles from what I heard infact I've heard that the city is still paying it off.

The city has finally paid it off, it happened this year. A mere 30 years after the olympics were held here.

The main reason the Montreal games went overbudget was due to the 1972 tragedy in Munich. When Montreal was awarded the Games in 1969 security wasn't a major financial headache it is today, and not much was budgeted for. When 1972 happened, the IOC put security at the top of the agenda, forcing Montreal to overspend to be safe rather than sorry.

Plus from what I've learnt the stadium design changed at a late stage, with the Mayor wanting a high structure to give the stadium a marker on the skyline, and this was integrated with the retractable roof, a technology that had never been used before. Of course, this went way over the original budget.

Even so, it was worth it :D

Does anybody have any interior pics? and does the dustbin style roof actually work? as i've never seen it open.

Is it true that the roof and massive crane have never actually been used because they made an arse of it? If this is true, then the stadium is poor as it's actual design and building has never been completed.

Untrue! :)

Though the stadium itself opened for the 1976 Summer Olympics, the retractible roof and assembly was not completed until 1988. It was made of Kevlar of all things, was hoisted by 26 cables connected to the tower, and took roughly 45 minutes to open or close. The concept was, to retract the roof, the cables will pull the membrane into the cavity near the top of the adjacent inclined tower. Here it is in action:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/mont-03.jpg

To deploy the roof, the cables in the tower are slackened, and cables attached to the roof of the stadium are pulled tight, stretching it over the entire surface like so:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/mont-01.jpg

Unfotunately, it's a complex system, and many parts of it failed frequently. The cost to just maintain the system was around $700,000 a year, so the whole concept of using the retractible roof was abandoned at the end of 1991. It remained as a fixed roof until 1997, when it was removed, and in 1998 a permanent roof was put over it.

Hope that helps! :)

Does anybody have any interior pics? and does the dustbin style roof actually work? as i've never seen it open.

You can find a bunch of interior pics here: http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/Olympic%20Stadium.htm

Scroll to the bottom and there's more pics you can click and enlarge. :)

It is a nice stadium, even though its 30 years late on its bills.

Nice stadium that was ahead of it's time but it's a shame they couldn't make a permanent retractable roof viable.

Does anyone have pics of this stadium during the Olympics? What was the capacity then compared to now?

What is it used for now that the Expos have gone?

There's an interesting video of it here: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-41-1316-7926/sports/montreal_olympic_games/clip12

There's an interesting snippet of the deployment of the roof on a scale model. You'll see how it's supposed to work.

There's an interesting video of it here: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-41-1316-7926/sports/montreal_olympic_games/clip12

There's an interesting snippet of the deployment of the roof on a scale model. You'll see how it's supposed to work.


Great video. A far as I can tell this stadium has been a disaster. It cost 900 million for a stadium that doesn't work. It has a huge tower that serves no function and from the inside the stadium is very ordinary looking with an ordinary capacity (it also has dated and looks very 70's). The tower looks good, but it doesn't serve it's purpose and therefore is a huge mistake. 900 million is a ridiculous amount of money for a stadium that doesn't work. Judging by the video, Canadians agree.

The money that was spent on this stadium was ridiculous. They spent 900 million in the early 70s till the late 80s when they finally completed it. That would equal to something much more these days. Even now, most stadiums being built that are state of the art and have similar capacities don't cost more than 4-500 million. I know that it gets cold in Montreal, and I can see why they wanted a retractable roof as they didn't want the Olympics in an indoor dome-like stadium. The fact that they thought that some fabric can do the job in a city like Montreal was a HUGE miscalculation. The weather in Montreal and can be harsh with very heavy rain and snowfall over the couse of the year and they chose a design that was not adequate for a city with such unstable weather.

Great video. A far as I can tell this stadium has been a disaster. It cost 900 million for a stadium that doesn't work. It has a huge tower that serves no function and from the inside the stadium is very ordinary looking with an ordinary capacity (it also has dated and looks very 70's). The tower looks good, but it doesn't serve it's purpose and therefore is a huge mistake. 900 million is a ridiculous amount of money for a stadium that doesn't work. Judging by the video, Canadians agree.

The tower does still hold up the roof doesnt it? Just it can't retract it anymore.

It has a pretty nice observation deck too (the tower).

I saw the roof being retracted during an Expos game, wow it was awesome to watch.

Can anyone give me the construction price of the Skydome in Toronto, I'm sure it was over the Billion $ mark. Well, the Olympic Stadium is about 50% larger, it is huge huge.

The capacity at the olympics were about mid 70K, it was then transformed to be a baseball park with around 56k seating capacity ( i was at an expos game with 55000 people, crazy).

The fourth level was closed these last years because the Expos didn't attract enough people apart from the opening game.

Finally, Taillbert, the stadium architect complained that the final building didn't respect his plans and its the reason why the roof had huge problems. The builders complain that Taillbert plan were unfeasible... so its hard to see who's fault it really is.

For the guy saying Montreal's winters are harsh, yes maybe harsh (on average 3 degrees cooler than Toronto in the winter an 2 degrees in the summer) but is not the reason why the roof failed.

The Montreal tower is an observation deck, a tourist attraction.

It wasn't built to be mainly an observation deck or a tourist attraction. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't even look close to a 900 million dollar stadium. It has also aged badly and looks very very 70's, wheras the Olympic stadium in Berlin is an example of a timeless classic that will never age. For 900 million, I would want a lot lot more class.

^^huh The tower was built, other than the obvious, to hold the roof and serve as an observation deck. What are you talking about?

Have you seen it in person? Have you been inside? That 900 M$ if I remember correctly served to build the velodrome and the biggest interior parking garage in Canada (maybe the world till recently) underneath with around 5000 parking spots.

^^huh The tower was built, other than the obvious, to hold the roof and serve as an observation deck. What are you talking about?

Have you seen it in person? Have you been inside? That 900 M$ if I remember correctly served to build the velodrome and the biggest interior parking garage in Canada (maybe the world till recently) underneath with around 5000 parking spots.

It was built to hold the roof, the observation deck is an obvious bonus when building a tower. It was not built as an observation deck, as if they were building an observation tower then they wouldn't have built it there. The observation deck is simply a bonus that comes with building a large tower to hold a roof up.

I have seen it in person, and it's very poor compared to the new stadiums in Germany etc. I realise it's your home town and you want to stick up for it, but it looks like a run of the mill, fairly large, dated 70's concrete stadium, with a bizarre big tower. Stade de France, for example, cost half as much and is far far better. 900 million seems a stupid price for that stadium.


If you want a proper stadium, then check out the Olympiastadion in Berlin, now that's a classic stadium (and the refurbishment cost a remarkably low £165 million, money very well spent)

Is that 900 million canadian or US dollars?

I think its a great stadium that is truly unique on this planet. I went there a few years ago and rode the funicular to the top...great view.

Who are the Expos?
What sport do they play?

As an architectural concept and sculpture, the thing is gorgeous. Too bad it never turned out as designed.

And I think the cost is well over $900 million. I'm pretty sure the origional cost at the time the Olympics opened was $1 billion (being only half built)...add in the completions years later (tower and roof), major repairs and interest...and I hear quotes of the total cost for 2006 at between $2.4 to $2.8 billion.



"The main reason the Montreal games went overbudget was due to the 1972 tragedy in Munich. When Montreal was awarded the Games in 1969 security wasn't a major financial headache it is today, and not much was budgeted for. When 1972 happened, the IOC put security at the top of the agenda, forcing Montreal to overspend to be safe rather than sorry."


I'm sorry, but the massive cost over-runs for the 76 Mtl games was NOT do to "security" at all.








"Can anyone give me the construction price of the Skydome in Toronto, I'm sure it was over the Billion $ mark."

Skydome cost around $600 million in the end (hotel, etc). The big difference being, the roof worked from day one, and it's still there...being used. I wouldn't call it pretty though.






KGB

$2.8 billion!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus, what a waste of money!!!!!!!

hey guys, look at this website : http://www.rio.gouv.qc.ca/

KGB no offence but you're way off with your numbers.

Here are the official numbers:


The construction costs, as at October 31, 2003
(in millions of $) and Percentage

Stadium 839 $ 56,9%
Montréal Tower 175 $ 11,9%
Total for the Stadium-Tower complex 1014 $ 68,8%
Parking lots 107 $ 7,3%
Sports Centre 54 $ 3,7%
Velodrome 83 $ 5,6%
Biodome (cost of transforming the Velodrome) 50,0 $ 3,4%
Outside tracks and fields 40,0 $ 2,7%
Thermal power plant 4 $ 0,3%
Total for the Olympic Park 1 352 $ 91,7%
Olympic Village 122 $ 8,3%
Grand total 1 474,0 $ 100,0%

So the cost of the tower and Stadium cost 1B$, if you want to account in the rest of the olympic structures, then add another 460Millions.

What sport do they play?
For the moment: none.
I think they should use Olympic stadium it for soccer. A real team called "Olympique de Montréal": with that kind of initials (O.M), they could win everything. "Droit au but !!!"

we have the soccer team impact de Montreal and they play in another mini stadium (built too for the olympics)... but now the stadium is too small, and the team will built a new stadium just for soccer. The impact attracts the most people in the league with an average of 11000 people.

I visited the stadium last year, it was really nice. Hope they don't tear it down.

Fantastic stadium but i think i have heard it has been full of problems since it was built

I visited the stadium last year, it was really nice. Hope they don't tear it down.

they won't... cause it'll cost another 500 to 800 millions to tear down.

you guys have no idea how big is this thing.

The latest news about it, is to give it a new roof.

And upgrade the training facilities inside for Olympic athletes.

they won't... cause it'll cost another 500 to 800 millions to tear down.

you guys have no idea how big is this thing.

The latest news about it, is to give it a new roof.

And upgrade the training facilities inside for Olympic athletes.

I don't think it would cost that much. They blow up massive towers in Glasgow all the time, and it doesn't cost much. Just strap on some explosives, tell the locals to piss off for a few hours, and BOOM!! The odd person dies from flying bricks etc, but that is only to be expected.

In a weird way I still have a soft spot for this building. I remember it being built,
and how proud all of Canada was when it was completed. I know it is an
uncomfortable white elephant now, but I still think of it way back in the days
when it was filled to the rafters for a Pink Floyd concert!

Looks good

I don't think it would cost that much. They blow up massive towers in Glasgow all the time, and it doesn't cost much. Just strap on some explosives, tell the locals to piss off for a few hours, and BOOM!! The odd person dies from flying bricks etc, but that is only to be expected.

hahahah nah man, it won't work for the stadium.

The concrete is reinforced by massive steel cables that would fly all over and cut heads and everything on its passage. :runaway: :runaway:

it would cost 500 to 800 to demolish it piece by piece... plus imagine all the trucks needed and the number of trips needed to carry away that concrete.

You guys don't realize how this thing is incredibly huge huge huge... imagine it as the same size as stade de france in paris, but all in concrete with an extra tower and complexe beneath it (4000+ interior parking spaces)

hahahah nah man, it won't work for the stadium.

The concrete is reinforced by massive steel cables that would fly all over and cut heads and everything on its passage. :runaway: :runaway:

it would cost 500 to 800 to demolish it piece by piece... plus imagine all the trucks needed and the number of trips needed to carry away that concrete.

You guys don't realize how this thing is incredibly huge huge huge... imagine it as the same size as stade de france in paris, but all in concrete with an extra tower and complexe beneath it (4000+ interior parking spaces)

Give me a good sledgehammer and a wheelbarrow, and i'll have that big bastard down in no time. I'll do it for 50 quid. I'm free next weekend?

Do you think the Big O should be demolished?
It's curently owned by the Government of Quebec (RIO) and costs over 1 billion dollars. The maintenance costs 20 million a year and the roof is in critical condition, the reinstalation of a new roof would cost over 15 million.
Therefore, no one would invest his money in this big pile of concrete.

Here are some pictures:
http://www.montreal2006.org/UserFiles/Banque/images/SI_Stade_02.jpg
http://www.edandjacqui.com/nyc_montreal/olympic07.jpg
http://gim.gupshup.org/gal/B/10olympic.JPG
http://expo67.ncf.ca/drapeau10.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/2/3134668_67792a0d7a.jpg
http://musicm.mcgill.ca/netads/http/img/stadium.jpg
http://canada.archiseek.com/quebec/montreal/images/olympic_stadium_tower2.jpg
http://www.stephentaylor.ca/archives/olympic-stadium-montreal.jpg
http://www.minorleagueballparks.com/olympic.jpg
http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/canada/quebec/montreal_olympic2.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Le_Stade_Olympique_2.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Le_Stade_Olympique1.jpg

Can anyone post pics on how it looked like during motreal's olympic hosting?

Just grow some balls and renovate it already, geez!

Can anyone post pics on how it looked like during motreal's olympic hosting?

Sure, although, it wasn't completed because the construction workers were on strike for a long time and the tower wasn't even up yet in time. Here:
http://www.donkardong.com/openingceremonies.jpg
http://www.montrealolympics.com/images/1976_07_17_Jeux76_sm.jpg
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/mont-01.jpg
http://www.notsorry.com/photos/mtlbigo.jpg

Really. I didnt knew that bit of info. Thanks.

Just grow some balls and renovate it already, geez!

Yep just whine like Toronto until you get enough federal money to do it!:)

yeah man, you cannot break down an olympic stadium, it is un heard off (or is it?)

yeah man, you cannot break down an olympic stadium, it is un heard off (or is it?)

You don't know how much of a failure is actually was.

The swimming complex next door is now a community pool yes? I like the design from the outside a lot. The inside is boring and serves no purpose, perhaps it could be revitalized into a few different things inside it like the old Forum? :yes:

:grouphug:

Does it even have any tenants? That thing has an embarrassing history for such an amazing city. I wouldn't be sad to see it go.

Although renovating it would be a helluva lot cheaper than building a new one. Any prospects of future tenants?

Does it even have any tenants? That thing has an embarrassing history for such an amazing city. I wouldn't be sad to see it go.

Although renovating it would be a helluva lot cheaper than building a new one. Any prospects of future tenants?

The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL play their playoff games and the last game of the season in the Big O. Alot of Car expositions and Motorcross shows are there too. And the NFL is considering the Olympic Stadium as a venue to play their second regular season game outside the US.

If we do renovate the Big O, we would have to replace the uper deck seats and remove the hanging speakers. The roof is a problem though, it costs over 15 million to replace.
The Big O is an icon for Montreal. It has to kept and renovated.

What is wrong with the "new" roof. I can't be that old?

I think they should keep it.
It great architecture, and is a icon of Montreal.
I live in Europe, and the olympic stadium is the only think that i know of Montreal. So the city will lose a big attraction!

Yep just whine like Toronto until you get enough federal money to do it!:)

Or be bitterly poor like Saskatchewan and the recieve Government handouts (Which is actually Ontario and Alberta taxpayer dollars) and not be thankful for it due to sheer lack of knowledge on the origin of this money.

:lol:

Or be bitterly poor like Saskatchewan and the recieve Government handouts (Which is actually Ontario and Alberta taxpayer dollars) and not be thankful for it due to sheer lack of knowledge on the origin of this money.

:lol:

Alberta taxpayer dollars?????? :bash: :bash:

Is it not part of Montreals proud history. Any city that has hosted the Olympics should be proud. I believe that it should be renovated. Is there a local sports team that uses it for home games? I saw it set up for baseball.


But hey.... I don't live there.

Is it not part of Montreals proud history. Any city that has hosted the Olympics should be proud. I believe that it should be renovated. Is there a local sports team that uses it for home games? I saw it set up for baseball.


But hey.... I don't live there.

Well, that's the reason why we want to keep the stadium, because it's part of our history, and it's an icon in Montreal!
Yes, the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL play their playoff games and the last game of the season in the Big O. Alot of Car expositions and Motorcross shows are there too. And the NFL is considering the Olympic Stadium as a venue to play their second regular season game outside the US.

I'd like the city and the province to keep the stadium up.
But in order to do that they need to find a lot more events to fill it at least once a week which is not the case right now. I lived in MTL and I must say this stadium is just stunning to look at. It was the first covered stadium and based on that lone fact this stadium deserves to be saved.
I think the Alouettes should play more games there next year. I'll admit that stadium needs not only a new roof but a complete make over.

I'd like one thing Montreal to have another shot at hosting the summer olympics they did not have a fair chance the first time they did it! And have the big O to host such an event once again would be a wonderful thing but I am just dreaming here.

Take it down.

Unless they decide to renovate the ENTIRE inside, it's just going to remain a dump, which is a shame, since they maintain the exterior so well. Everything inside is wrong. The lights. The color scheme. The seating formations. The giant walls. The concrete seats/dead zone around the scoreboard. Bleah.

Take it down.

Unless they decide to renovate the ENTIRE inside, it's just going to remain a dump, which is a shame, since they maintain the exterior so well. Everything inside is wrong. The lights. The color scheme. The seating formations. The giant walls. The concrete seats/dead zone around the scoreboard. Bleah.

Well, it is renovatable, and it's not a complete dump. The hanging speakers and the seats have to be replaced.
There used to be seats in the zone around scoreboard, but they modified the seating for baseball.
This Sunday, a playoff game will be played there against Toronto (I'm going!:banana: ) and the dead zone will be filled by temporary seats.

If the roof of the stadium is so problematic, they could demolish to roof itself, but for the love of God they should keep the stadium! One of the most beautiful structures I've seen. Would be a shame if they took it down.

Why is it that inside most stadiums that i've seen where baseball is played, they just look bloody awful. Love the exterior of the stadium though, it should be renovated. Pity it doesn't have a regular tenant to make it worthwhile.

Why is it that inside most stadiums that i've seen where baseball is played, they just look bloody awful.

I give up. Why?

I give up. Why?


The problem is not the stadium is the sport baseball needs a specific stadium. Miami and Toronto are doing a good job with their stadium but no regular stadium can fit the needs of baseball in terms of seating. It always have the stadium to look like crap in the end.

The only thing for the big O is if it's renovated, for what use then? It has to generate a minimum of money and cost very little to be kept. a new roof itself would cost a bunch. the current roadshows, event and games played there are just not enough to justify it running.

Why is it that inside most stadiums that i've seen where baseball is played, they just look bloody awful. Love the exterior of the stadium though, it should be renovated. Pity it doesn't have a regular tenant to make it worthwhile.

Most baseball stadiums don't look anything like that. The Big O was considered one of the worst facilities in Major League Baseball which was one of the determining factors in Montreal losing their baseball team.

Please don't bring up Labatt!

Most baseball stadiums don't look anything like that. The Big O was considered one of the worst facilities in Major League Baseball which was one of the determining factors in Montreal losing their baseball team.
I realise that this stadium wasn't built for baseball originally. Thats definitely why it probably looks so bad inside currently. But even alot of purpose built baseball stadiums look awkward because they don't look symetrical. Thats just my opinion though, i'm sure most people don't mind them. Anyhow, sorry i'm starting to go off topic here.

Yep just whine like Toronto until you get enough federal money to do it!:)

Please do not get me started.

^^ You heard the man!

I realise that this stadium wasn't built for baseball originally. Thats definitely why it probably looks so bad inside currently. But even alot of purpose built baseball stadiums look awkward because they don't look symetrical. Thats just my opinion though, i'm sure most people don't mind them. Anyhow, sorry i'm starting to go off topic here.

Well no they definitely aren't symetrical but that it is just the nature of the playing field. Most new baseball stadiums are purposely built to have weird quirks also.

Take it down.

Unless they decide to renovate the ENTIRE inside, it's just going to remain a dump, which is a shame, since they maintain the exterior so well. Everything inside is wrong. The lights. The color scheme. The seating formations. The giant walls. The concrete seats/dead zone around the scoreboard. Bleah.


It looks ok to me.

It looks ok to me.

The outside is perfect, although the inside needs alot of renovation. Basically the seats and the lighting need replacements! the hanging speakers have to be replaced too.
I'm going to an Alouettes game at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow and I'll get you some updated photos.

^^ GO ARGOS!! WOOT!! Sorry, you're probably on your way there by now but please take pics.

^^ GO ARGOS!! WOOT!! Sorry, you're probably on your way there by now but please take pics.

Just came back, ALS WOOON!!! Now, it's Grey Cup Time! The attendance was disapointing: about 40K
I have pics, but their were taken on my cell (forgot my camera :bash: :bash: ) I'll post them when I get them uploaded from my cell.

Yup attendence was poor 36000+ only.
If montrealers wanted this stadium to remain the most stunning piece of their skyline it was the occasion to show it and they missed it!

But als won so really who cares!
Go als Go! BC lions Mtl Als that does look good!

Yup attendence was poor 36000+ only.
If montrealers wanted this stadium to remain the most stunning piece of their skyline it was the occasion to show it and they missed it!

But als won so really who cares!
Go als Go! BC lions Mtl Als that does look good!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c8/2008_Grey_Cup.gif

:cheer: :cheer:

Hopefully they will meet their aspirations of 70 000, I doubt you would forget your camera then Gjm130!

I also can't wait for:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/CFL-GC_5533.gif

Please don't bring up Labatt!
Labatt Park

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/mrfusion1/LP1.jpg

Montreal, Quebec

Tenant: Montreal Expos
Opening: Undetermined
Status: Never built
Style: Open air
Surface: Grass
Capacity: 36,287 (2,090 right-field bleacher seats could be added)

Architect: AXOR Group; Provencher Roy & Associés Architects
Construction: AXOR Group
Owner: City of Montreal
Cost: $200M

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/mrfusion1/LP2.jpg http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/mrfusion1/LP3.jpg

On February 8, 2000 new team owner Jeffrey Loria presented the last plan for a new Expos ballpark in downtown Montreal. The $200 million project was significantly less expensive than a previous proposal which called for a retractable roof. The plan was submitted to the city's Executive Committee so it could be examined by the City Council's Urban Development Commission. The Expos would then have had to enter into a lease with Canada Lands, and finalize the project's financing. The team intended to start construction in the spring of 2000 in order to open the 2002 season in the new ballpark.

The model introduced to the media was a departure from recent ballparks built for MLB teams. There would be no retro-style brick facades or sharp angles. The new stadium was oval in shape and a transparent exterior glass wall was planned to follow the stadium's curve and to surround its steel frame. This would allow spectators to witness activity in the neighbouring streets and public squares. The wall would also reflect the surrounding scenery (sky, trees, etc.) during the day, while at night it would reveal outside activity in the surrounding neighborhood. It offered many views from the outside to the inside and its design promised a sense of closeness and intimacy.

The stadium would have been built using the "design-build" method with the AXOR Group acting as designer and general contractor. They were the builders of the Du Maurier Tennis Stadium at Jarry Park. AXOR would have been working with the architectural firm of Provencher Roy & Associés Architects. The facility would have been located on the parcel of land bordered by Peel Street to the east, de la Montagne to the west, Saint-Jacques to the north and Notre-Dame to the south.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g231/mrfusion1/LP4.jpg

The east side of Peel Street would have provided the link between the stadium and the commercial and human activity of the downtown area: offices, restaurants and public squares. The main entrance would have been on Peel. The other two entrances would have been located on Saint-Jacques and de la Montagne Streets. On the west side, the public space converted into a park would have preserved the residential character of the neighborhood.

On May 28, 1998, the Expos announced a twenty year sponsorship agreement with the Labatt Brewing Company. The agreement required Labatt to pay the Expos $100 million over a twenty year period beginning in 2001. Labatt would have payed $40 million for naming rights to the proposed stadium and about $60 million to be the team's main sponsor. Some doubt had been cast over that deal because early in 2000 the team was sold and a new, less expensive ballpark was proposed. Although the Expos and Labatt confirmed the sponsorship deal on March 29, 2000, it ultimately fell through.

The Expos were sold to the other 29 Major League Baseball teams in 2002 and Jeffrey Loria bought the Florida Marlins. Finally, on September 29, 2004, the team announced they were moving to Washington, DC.

Ballpark Features:

- 64 corporate boxes
- Two dugout loges at field level with a capacity of 18 seats each
- 257 seat exclusive club at field level, between dugouts
- Party Room located behind right field fence at field level

Ballpark Trivia:

- A model of the the proposal was given to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. It was destroyed by vandals on April 27, 2005.

:grouphug:

Ouch! :ohno:

That was...

http://image.com.com/mp3/images/cover/200/drd800/d872/d87252b27ty.jpg

No, it's still useful, and beautiful! What a darn shame Labatt Park never saw the light of day. Is there anything in that space now?

^^ I knew this was going to happen! Damn you Mr. Fusion!!

yeah man, you cannot break down an olympic stadium, it is un heard off (or is it?)


Chicago plans on doing it for the 2016 Olypiad.

A white elephant

A white elephant is a supposedly valuable possession whose upkeep costs exceed its usefulness, and it is therefore a liability. The term derives from the white elephant of East Asia, which is high-maintenance and has no practical use, but is considered sacred in Burmese culture (and therefore cannot be neglected or abandoned). A common elephant is expensive enough to maintain, considering the amount of food and water it requires. Thus it is considered a good idea to gift a white elephant to an enemy in the hope of bringing them to financial ruin.
In Sri Lanka the term is also used to imply that something is good to look at on the outside but is in fact only a waste of resources.

Example.

Montreal Olympic Stadium. Initially built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, its primary use became the home of the Montreal Expos until the team relocated in 2004. Aside from a few tradeshows, the stadium sits vacant most of the year due to structual instabilities, its poor interior design, and inconvenient location. Total cost of construction was over C$1 billion dollars.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_Olympique

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant

I knew this was going to happen! Damn you Mr. Fusion!!
Sorry... I could not help myself! :lol:

Joking aside, my friends and I loved the design of Labatt Park because it broke the ad-nauseum trend of retro ballparks. It would have been something special! :yes:

:grouphug:

Really there was no need to bring the Parc Labatt story in here. It still hurts me to think that the expos are now winning some games (well sort off) under the name Washington Nationals.
Just for the info the site of Labbat Park is now, at least partially, occupied by residential housing.

Ok back on topic!

yeah man, you cannot break down an olympic stadium, it is un heard off (or is it?)

Melbourne did. The MCG was rebuilt for the 1956 Olympics was demolished again in 2001 to make way for the redevelopment for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

MCG, 1956 Olympic Games
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23389514-v

MCG, 2006 Commonwealth Games (this pic would be from the exact same vantage point in the new stadium, 50 years later!)
http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ContentResources/52.$plit/C_17_photogallery_385_list_photo_list_photo_item_8_photo.jpg

London also did the same with Wembley used for the 1948 Olympics. Several others from the early 20th century no longer exist.

,,,,,,,,,

Part of the future of the Big O lies with the Saputo Stadium to be build on the site of the athletic track behind it. I don't think Montreal will be without a major stadium too long anyway.

The point is Montreal can't consider "herself" as a big city without a stadium and I think the Big O will have a successor before too long but I'll be sad on the day that old friend will go down.

http://www.tsn.ca/olympics/news_story/?ID=188973&hubname=

Report: Olympic Stadium finally paid off

TSN.ca Staff
12/19/2006 1:52:56 AM

After 30 years of swimming in debt, it appears Montreal's Olympic Stadium has been paid off.

According to the La Presse in Montreal, the last cheque has been delivered to Quebec Finance Department.

The state-of-the-art stadium was built to host the 1976 Olympic Summer Games but cost overruns and several structural issues turned it into a financial disaster.

The province used tax money generated from cigarette sales to cover a percentage of the mounting debt.

The stadium became the home of baseball's Montreal Expos and the CFL's Montreal Alouettes over the years and hosted the famous Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran welterweight title fight.

BLOW IT UP. The Seattle King Dome was imploded and has just as much concrete. Contray to Myth no Metro line run underneath the BIG OWE.

Autoshows will not touch it with the ice storm and roof colapse in 1999 whihc heaveily damaged new cars and injuried workers on the floor . The montreal autoshow has moved to the Bell Centre since the 1999 incident.
The new Roof installed in 1999 (the third in less then 15 years) cost 6 million a year over the next 30 for financing and it was found the spring of 2006 that they will have to replace the newest fabric as it will not last the 30 year term for the financing. The BIG OWE and the olympic installation broad costs 30 million a year and the city of montreal refused to take it over when offered by the province in october.

There is no tennant with maybe the exception of the montreal company
FIELD TURF. which probably put a surface in for emergancy purchases of their high demand product. I believe that is where the New England patriots got their Field Turf a couple of weeks ago in such fast fashion.

The aloulettes are trying to expand molson preval stadium and the saputo stadium is only 15000 seats for the impact.

Major League baseball will never occupy the stadium, that was what the purposed labatts stadium was about. Montreal could not deleiver so off went the expos to washington DC.

As to an olympic stadium not being torn down Turner Field hardly looks like
the 1996 olympics stadium as it was converted to baseball for the atlanta braves. About a third of the original grandstand for the 1996 games does not exist. St louis does not have their olympic stadium, Seoul South Korea's 1988 stadium was not even able to host the Fifa world cup in 2002 because it is bascially abandoned and falling apart.

Time matches on and we should leave the biggest embrassment this country has ever had to the wreckers ball . The second biggest embrassment was Meribel airport. Montreal has to get pass reliving the BIG OWE/EXPO 67/MERIBEL nightmare that lives with the city today thanks to one Mayor Jean Drapeau. Per Olympic Montreal was the biggest city in canada and the financial centre. The Olympics destroyed that by opening the Provincial Liberals to election defeat and the spiral of a PQ government

St louis does not have their olympic stadium
Incorrect. Francis Field is home to various sports on the campus of Washington University - St. Louis.

:grouphug:

Jim I have to call you also on Seoul's stadium while it was neglected after the olympics it is still used today and is still in its original shape. The reason for not being used for the WC was maybe because of the running track?

Considering how long it has been and how controversial it always was, I thought I have to post another article on the same news:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=77a09b82-1cee-49e0-aa0f-7ad539cb77ce&k=16065

The Big O is the Big Owe no longer

Montreal Gazette
Published: Tuesday, December 19, 2006

The bill for the Olympic Stadium and other facilities of the 1976 Olympic games was finally paid off in mid-November, bringing its final price tag to nearly $1.5 billion.

However, the special tax on tobacco that was instituted in 1976 to pay for the games won't be lifted to give smokers a break.

The money in the Special Olympic Fund, which amounts to about eight per cent of Quebec's annual tobacco tax revenue, will be split into two new funds for sports and culture.

If there is any surplus, it will roll back into Quebec's consolidated revenue fund, a spokesperson for the province's finance minister said.

The Olympics were initially estimated in 1970 to cost no more than $120 million, but the debt climbed higher as the problems with the stadium's roof multiplied.

Despite the problems, the Quebec government is committed to maximizing the Olympic facilities, said a spokesperson for the minister of tourism, which oversees the site.

The new Impact soccer stadium is to be built on the site, and an engineering firm is currently in the process of laying the plans for a new permanent roof.

However, a 1976 law stipulated the Olympic Stadium would be handed back to the city of Montreal once the debt was paid off.

The Tourism Department said they will make that decision once the debt becomes official in a few weeks, but in the meantime the city’s executive committee has made itself clear – they want absolutely no part of it.

The stadium is too expensive, too old, and has too many problems, said Francine Sénécal, the executive committee member responsible for sports.

“Since the stadium was paid for by all Quebecers, it should belong to all Quebecers for use by all Quebecers,” Sénécal said.

Jim I have to call you also on Seoul's stadium while it was neglected after the olympics it is still used today and is still in its original shape. The reason for not being used for the WC was maybe because of the running track?

The Berlin olympic stadium was the host stadium for the final games this year complete with running track in tact and it has probably been upgraded.
Lovely blue and white coloring of the lanes.

the events this year and last in the BIG OWE were eastern conference CFL finals which are declining for draw. THe Out Games and maybe monster truck and motocross???? that is not enough to justify 30 million dollars of maintanence.
The year before Fina had part of the world aquatics championship in the building and the city of montreal lost 5 million of the deal. both the province and feds were on the hook for 16 million a peice. There is one building left from expo 67 in tact and functioning. Montreal can see when they have no use for something and it is a drain .

They would raise more money in montreal selling lotto tickets with the lucky winner pressing the button to emplode the building. THe upper part of the tower is not concrete as some believe it is actaully steel as they found the mad french architects plan of having the design carried out would have had the thing crashing into the bowl. THat was reported in a CBC documentary in 1999.

THe BIG OWE is a publicly held safety liability and no one wants to be a longterm tennant because of that.

And please do give me the Effiel Tower agruement . The Effiel Tower actually adopted to changing use and functions as it was bascially intended.

THe Big Owe it served the purpose of an architect from france , A complex rube goldberg device that was so complex that it drove his fees up . 15 million plus a percentage of the final cost is what I have read. That is as criminal as we are stupid to put up with it.

Considering how long it has been and how controversial it always was, I thought I have to post another article on the same news:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=77a09b82-1cee-49e0-aa0f-7ad539cb77ce&k=16065

in our words the memo from the city of montreal to the province of quebec.
We are not taking the problem you have had for the last 30 years LOL

The Berlin olympic stadium was the host stadium for the final games this year complete with running track in tact and it has probably been upgraded.
Lovely blue and white coloring of the lanes.

Yeah I knew that. Just saying maybe Seoul officials didn't want to use it maybe for that reason.

The stadium is still currently in use on an occasion much like Montreal.

why are the Montreal Impact building a soccer stadium so far away from downton ??

Yeah I knew that. Just saying maybe Seoul officials didn't want to use it maybe for that reason.

The stadium is still currently in use on an occasion much like Montreal.

Which is very very little. South Korea has moved on very far in regards to stadium construction Incheon not far from Seoul has a brand new stadium that looks incredible. It hosted some WC 2002 games and that city is biding on the 2014 asian games. Seoul had a long term plan to hosting the olympics without cost overruns. They built the stadium to first host the asian games
and then to host the olympics. the Stadium broke ground in 1977 and was complete in 1984. Seoul intended on hosting the asian games in 1978 which of course was not possible and then in 1982 which again was not possible . The city hosted the asian games in 1986 and even with a two year old stadium they had to do repairs for their hosting in 1988 of the summer olympics.
When Japan and South Korea co hosted the WC 2002 the Seoul built another stadium for their matches and completed that stadium in 2001. That WC 2002 stadium was one of 10 that hosted games in south korea and is was a soccer purpose built facility. The city's soccer club is tennant of the WC 2002 stadium the national olympic stadium does not have a tennant and is suited to athletics. Who knows Seoul may have desings in the future of hosting the olympics as they have the ability to do so without a games that went off well from every standpoint. Montreal will never host the games again. Their problems almost ended the olympic movement.
http://www.sosfo.or.kr/english/88olympics/contents/stadium/stadium_view.asp

As to why saputo stadium is not downtown . The east end of montreal could have many of the impact fans. If the saputos know their customer base for the soccer team they might find that a downtown location is a disadvantage. You are only looking at 15000 seats and the subway stations are very close to the property. I would not doubt the land was free from the olympic installation board as they will not be having a track meet in the BIG OWE anytime soon . THe Saputos are putting up their stadium on their own dime and that would be refreshing for the quebec government that has paid for the last 30 years what one hundred saputo stadiums cost on the olympic debt. Giving the land to the saputo takes one less liability off the province of quebecs hands.

The city and provincial officials know it is a matter of time until they tear the place down . Who knows they might take it apart so the stadium part is gone and the aquatic centre is left. The stadium is totally outdated and was terrible for baseball. I was actually at the game the chicago cubs cliched their first eastern pennant in over 40 years and it was primarily chicago cubs fans who came from chicago to see history being made. The seating was more suited for football then baseball.

an update on the Big Owe . The fire marshall will not allow events in the stadium for the four months of the year that there is a snow load on the roof. The stadium authority is also sueing the fabric roof company because the 30 year financed roof from 1999 is starting to show structural problems.

Yes a building that can only have the public in for 66 percent of the year and if you have a snow strom in october, which has happened in montreal, you could end up cancelling the eastern conference finals and the grey cup . I am sure even if you had a ringing endorsement from the weather man people in montreal would always have the sturctural problems in mind thanks to the fire marshalls annual orders.

A building that should be torn down the liabilities are too great and the RED ink is both the past and future with the worst archtectural faliure that man has every known .

Actually, you can't implode Olympic Stadium. A few years ago, there was a study that confirmed that the structure is so complex and uses so much concrete that the easiest and cheapest way to demolish the stadium was to tear it down bit by bit.

However, this process would take 7 years and close to $500 million......yep!
Montreal would be better off spending $500 million on improving the stadium.

why are the Montreal Impact building a soccer stadium so far away from downton ??

Cause it will only cost about $15 M to do it in the RIO park. Saputo is backing the stadium with his own money. Besides so far the fans have followed the team to Robillard stadium, so they tend to believe that they would follow them there which is not a bad call from my point of view. In addition to that if the first leg is to build a 13500 seater, they'll need space to expand at a later date (to 17000 seats) being in the RIO should make it less difficult. However that's just a theory.

If you compare the price of Saputo stadium to BMO field it's huge $15M against $70M. Buying a piece of real estate downtown Mtl would have probably put the price to a not so nice $45M. Impact being in the USL and not the MLS made it simple, go with the less expensive place you can get.

Actually, you can't implode Olympic Stadium. A few years ago, there was a study that confirmed that the structure is so complex and uses so much concrete that the easiest and cheapest way to demolish the stadium was to tear it down bit by bit.

However, this process would take 7 years and close to $500 million......yep!
Montreal would be better off spending $500 million on improving the stadium.

Then the question is: are you ready to spend $500 M on the big O if you have no team inside? It's too big for the Alouettes on a daily basis. Not good for a baseball team. I won't even mention soccer! Unless you get a NFL franchise in the city, which would probably kill the CFL. I don't see what would justify spending that kind of money on this stadium. The roof has to be reenginered not just redone. And don't get me wrong, I 'd much prefer see this stadium full with happy crowd having fun.

I just see no way of justifying keeping it. The roof might collapse tomorrow
and I really don't want to see that happening.

Then the question is: are you ready to spend $500 M on the big O if you have no team inside? It's too big for the Alouettes on a daily basis. Not good for a baseball team. I won't even mention soccer! Unless you get a NFL franchise in the city, which would probably kill the CFL. I don't see what would justify spending that kind of money on this stadium. The roof has to be reenginered not just redone. And don't get me wrong, I 'd much prefer see this stadium full with happy crowd having fun.

I just see no way of justifying keeping it. The roof might collapse tomorrow
and I really don't want to see that happening.

What would get Canadians to adore the CFL as much as the NHL!?! If it attracted crowds as big as NFL games, the Als wouldn't have to be playing in Molson and have great success with and updated Big O. I hope they do reach their goal for 70 000 at the '08 Grey Cup, I also hope they slighty renovate it. They better hurry up, they only have a year and a couple of months.

Turn it into a shopping mall! :yes:

Or do something like what the Technodome was supposed to be, make it an entertainment zone.

So they have two one year to get a roof that works on it. Ok now I call that a bold move. I even consider it a bit cocky. But I'm all for it.

How to get 70000 people to go to the stadium on a daily basis?! Well CFL in my mind CFL is sort of a NFL division 2. Get everybody to division 1 and I think your problem is solved.

Yeah it's not going to be easy!

If the CFL had 3 more teams I think it would already be a huge push
(more meaningful games = more ticket sales = more tv coverage = more money for the franchise = more good players = even more people coming to games = more money in the end = bigger stadium)

my idea is every team should have his Ricky Williams and we keep the best canadian players in Canada. We don't send them to the reserve roster of the Chargers.

Other idea to get the Big O to be used. Don't build a shopping mall in it build a shopping mall around it and put La ronde inside it. lol

I would just hate to see it go!! Maybe we can get Ali G's help to try to convince Trump to renovate it and buy the Als!

Cause it will only cost about $15 M to do it in the RIO park. Saputo is backing the stadium with his own money. Besides so far the fans have followed the team to Robillard stadium, so they tend to believe that they would follow them there which is not a bad call from my point of view. In addition to that if the first leg is to build a 13500 seater, they'll need space to expand at a later date (to 17000 seats) being in the RIO should make it less difficult. However that's just a theory.

If you compare the price of Saputo stadium to BMO field it's huge $15M against $70M. Buying a piece of real estate downtown Mtl would have probably put the price to a not so nice $45M. Impact being in the USL and not the MLS made it simple, go with the less expensive place you can get.


If it works out, then great. I just hope that the new Montreal soccer stadium doesn't suffer from the stigma of being associated next to the Olympic stadium. Hopefully the Montreal Impact can eventually join the newly formed MLS Canadian League in a few years.

There's no way you can fit 70k in the Big O for CFL games.

There's no way you can fit 70k in the Big O for CFL games.


Yes you can, you just need 550 M to renovate it, lower the pitch, and add the necessary seating on the former track. Piece of cake if you have 550 M that is!

the real question is whether it's necessary ?

Yes you can, you just need 550 M to renovate it, lower the pitch, and add the necessary seating on the former track. Piece of cake if you have 550 M that is!

The running track was torn out when the stdium was renovated for the expos in 1991. steep grandstands were taken out after the games and were probably temporary for the olympics. The big can be imploded. The seattle kingdome was larger and it was imploded.

Jim jones

The running track was torn out when the stdium was renovated for the expos in 1991. steep grandstands were taken out after the games and were probably temporary for the olympics. The big can be imploded. The seattle kingdome was larger and it was imploded.

Jim jones

Some would like to have it imploded, it's for sure the cheapest thing to do. The problem lies with the tower... Implode a stadium is a complex manoeuvre; imploding the Big O would be even more complex some have said dangerous.

Some would like to have it imploded, it's for sure the cheapest thing to do. The problem lies with the tower... Implode a stadium is a complex manoeuvre; imploding the Big O would be even more complex some have said dangerous.
Well something I saw in a tv report somewheres that the top the tower is beyond the roof line had to be constructed with steel and was stuccoed to match the rest of the building. The reason was when lavalan got into the building of the tower they found that if they had of continued with concrete the tower would have tipped into the opening and crashed into the field.

The tower could be taken down easier then the rest of the building via cranes .
Then the rest could be imploded. Imploding actually is considered the safest way for demolition in many places. You dont have workers on a site when the material comes down . There is much more control with falling material.

More workplace accidents would happen with buildings torn down with the wrecking ball and manual means then implosions. Anyone who says the big owe cant be taken down with an implosion is someone who wants to hang on to something which time is done.

jim jones

Well if it's safe enough, they better implode it and get a 50-60000 seater, more functional dome built. Either solution regarding the future of mega events in Montreal will cost plenty. Should the city spend a hefty 500 M on a massive make over or destroy and build something new. How much would demolition cost? Assuming a new stadium should cost around 500 M.

What kind of bill should montrealers expect?

Like i said before, a study was made a few years ago that found it would be even more expensive to implode the stadium rather than taking it down bit by bit. It'll cost half a billion and 6-7 years to tear it down.

Like i said before, a study was made a few years ago that found it would be even more expensive to implode the stadium rather than taking it down bit by bit. It'll cost half a billion and 6-7 years to tear it down. please bring it forward

I would love to see it. 2 million america he aladian hotel casino was brought down and taken away for that site. Yes there is more concrete and rebar in the olympic stadium then the old aladian hotel but 250 times more ???? heres the CDI report on bring down the kingdome which is larger for volume then the olympic stadium. had a reinforced concrete roof that the olympics stadium does not have.
http://controlled-demolition.com/default.asp?reqLocId=7&reqItemId=20030317140323
9 million for the implosion and taking away of the debris for the kingdome. Three rivers stadium was imploded and taken away fro 5.1 million.

Yeah if we had the construction mob that ripped quebec off to build a disaster of a building it would cost 50 time more then the kingdome to take down

jim jones

please bring it forward

I would love to see it. 2 million america he aladian hotel casino was brought down and taken away for that site. Yes there is more concrete and rebar in the olympic stadium then the old aladian hotel but 250 times more ???? heres the CDI report on bring down the kingdome which is larger for volume then the olympic stadium. had a reinforced concrete roof that the olympics stadium does not have.
http://controlled-demolition.com/default.asp?reqLocId=7&reqItemId=20030317140323
9 million for the implosion and taking away of the debris for the kingdome. Three rivers stadium was imploded and taken away fro 5.1 million.

Yeah if we had the construction mob that ripped quebec off to build a disaster of a building it would cost 50 time more then the kingdome to take down

jim jones

It was a few years ago that it was released, there were quite a few articles on it. and we had a big discussion about it in the main Canada forum.

It was a few years ago that it was released, there were quite a few articles on it. and we had a big discussion about it in the main Canada forum.

I dont doubt your word on there being a study but it certainly is not reported in regards to finding it on the net. It is hard to beleive that a building would take 500 million to bring it down when a building with more volume for conrete cost a mere 9 million . The trend now with stadiums like the big owe is to auction off seats, signs and other piece of the a stadium. Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburg had 8000 biders with seats going for 600 dollars a piece.

What would be the price for a former olympic stadium seat???

You have the chinesse involved for the rebar and they would have the manpower to break the big owe concrete away from the rebar on the wharf of the port of montreal to ship in empty containers back to china. The concrete blocks could be sold to people in canada with laser markings to say it was from the olympic stadium. I would certainly like a big owe paper wiegh or doorstop in fact I will buy a few. that is more money then they will ever recroup with not tennant.

jim jones

There's no way you can fit 70k in the Big O for CFL games.

They fit 68,318 in Olympic Stadium in 1977 for the Grey Cup. I don't see why they couldn't get another 1,700 seats in there. I realize that alot of permanent stands have been removed since this capacity was possible, but temporary seats can just as easily be put back in.

The problem with Olympic Stadium is filling it 200 times a year. Even if the Alouettes moved back to Olympic Stadium, that's only 9 games/year. College football isn't popular enough to be played here, and there is no baseball team any more.

Still, it's become iconic, a symbol of the city. 30 years later, and it's probably the most recognizable stadium in the world. Not only mammoth, but architecturally out of this world. I remember my mum telling me that when she was living in London back in the 70's, people marvelled with amazement at this fantastic structure being built in Montreal. It still has the power to amaze. It looks almost extra-terrestrial, like a space ship.

I don't understand what all the whining is about, it looks like a great stadium!

I always liked the exterior, very iconic with the tower, the bowl has serious issues though. The sightlines are for baseball, which it is way too big for (ideally 40,000-45,000). And consequently the sightlines for rectangular sports are pretty bad. And on a side not they really could have come up with a better color scheme for the seats themselves.

Stade Olympique/Olympic Stadium was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. It initially cost $700 million, but due to delays and debt caused by the Olympics, the stadiums true cost was estimated to be closer to $2 Billion.

The inclined tower was one of the features that wasn't completed in time for the games. The tower was finished later while the originally planned retractable roof was operational in 1987.

Capacity is lower today than during the Olympics to make way for features like a new score board. Capacity is listed at 65,255 but held 66,308 yesterday when it hosted the 96th Grey Cup, the second oldest trophy in north American professional sport after the Stanley Cup.


This is what it looked like during the 1976 Olympics:
http://www.olympicpostcards.com/USERIMAGES/olympic065.JPG
http://images.beijing2008.cn/20070505/Img214049261.jpg

Later construction:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/mont-03.jpg
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/mont-ext.jpg

What it looks like today:
http://photos2.flickr.com/3134668_67792a0d7a.jpg

Some photos from Grey Cup Sunday (yesterday) courtesy of Habfanman:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/Habfanman/Canon%20Montreal%206/782b6807.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/Habfanman/Canon%20Montreal%206/9b6f6c6d.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/Habfanman/Canon%20Montreal%206/7504bebe.jpg

The inclined tower with observation deck:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/Habfanman/Canon%20Montreal%206/2868dfb2.jpg

The cable car track:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/Habfanman/Canon%20Montreal%206/f6732fd7.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii68/Habfanman/Canon%20Montreal%206/a1755179.jpg



http://www.olympicpostcards.com/USERIMAGES/olympic065.JPG
http://images.beijing2008.cn/20070505/Img214049261.jpg
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/mont-03t.jpg
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsapp/BT/DOMES/TIMELN/montreal/montex-t.jpg
http://photos2.flickr.com/3134668_67792a0d7a.jpg

This is what the inside looks like after being gutted for baseball.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1129/864069085_c5284df664_o.jpg

omg, is that a bad layout for football or what????

I wish they'd make it better for rectangular sports, it won't host baseball again so they should just put seats there.

I CANNOT wait for the pics from the Grey Cup. Despite having a weird layout, it looked fantastic when full!

I know. I've searched flickr already but I can't find any decent Grey Cup shots. Hopefully, someone will post some.

^ I checked for them too, nothing up yet. There is a pano shot on TSN.ca but its flash, can't link it.

It looked much better for the Grey Cup because they used temp stands to fill in the gaps left by baseball

http://thesportsroadtrip.wnymedia.net/blogs/tag/stade-olympique/

There are some here.

I wish they'd fill the gaps permanently.

http://thesportsroadtrip.wnymedia.net/blogs/files/2008/11/mon6537.JPG
http://thesportsroadtrip.wnymedia.net/blogs/files/2008/11/mon6547.JPG

The big O is a great one it needs to go back to be a multi use stadium and get rid of the stupid baseball layout!!!

Argh! I regret not going to Montreal for the Grey Cup. I was at the Vanier Cup the day before in Hamilton, but I suppose I could have done them both.

Really stinks that there's barely any sporting use for this stadium anymore other than big one off events like CFL playoffs and the U20 world cup. Looks like the Impact will be playing their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal in February there as long as they're approved. Other than that this stadium just sits there.

It is sad. Even if football continues to boom in Quebec, I can't see the Alouettes moving out of Molson Stadium to the larger capacity Olympic Stadium. Fans love that McGill venue.

I dream of the day that this stadium is full for a domestic football (soccer) match. Too bad that'll never happen

You never know, soccer is growing really fast in Canada. It's not a fringe sport any more.

Well considering Toronto vs Montreal drew only 12,000 fans right next door at Stade Saputo, I don't see the day that they can fill 65,000 at the Big O.

Well considering Toronto vs Montreal drew only 12,000 fans right next door at Stade Saputo, I don't see the day that they can fill 65,000 at the Big O.

Yes, but that was the first game ever between them. I was at the game between them in Toronto and I must say it had never been so loud and passionate at BMO Field before.

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Yes, but that was the first game ever between them. I was at the game between them in Toronto and I must say it had never been so loud and passionate at BMO Field before.

I went to both games. Big bad Toronto came to town for the first time and they couldn't even sell out a 13,000 seat stadium.

The Ultras Montreal (who we outnumbered 5-1 with our road crew) seemed to get the importance of the match but to the rest of the crowd it was just another game of kick ball and a nice family night out.

I went to both games. Big bad Toronto came to town for the first time and they couldn't even sell out a 13,000 seat stadium.

The Ultras Montreal (who we outnumbered 5-1 with our road crew) seemed to get the importance of the match but to the rest of the crowd it was just another game of kick ball and a nice family night out.

Crappy promoting then.

If Montreal ever gets its act together and gets into MLS the 401 derby is going to be epic.

What was the capacity during the Olympics, and what capacity could it take if rebuilt into "pure football" mode do you think?

The Montréal Olympic park is great because of its uniformic architectural design, too bad the interior of the main stadium has been messed up.

^^ Agreed. Despite the fact that the Olympics almost bankrupted Montreal, the stadium complex is unique and truly worthy of an Olympic Stadium. Luckaly I have been there myself to see it in person. Just as München 1972 was and is also truly worthy of an Olympic Stadium as an icon. Funny, the stadiums for the Olympics of Moscow and LA were great stadiums, but to me they were not so iconic as the 1970's stadiums. Just a personal opinion (mine) of course. :banana:

What was the capacity during the Olympics, and what capacity could it take if rebuilt into "pure football" mode do you think?

i think it would be something like 68,000 if they rebuilt it as an athletic stadium. If they lowered the pitch to make it a football stadium they could easily hit the upper 70's. The only problem is that there is no real need in Montreal for a stadium of over 30,000

^^ True. The only sport that is ever going to fill Olympic Stadium is a playoff football game. That's Canadian football, not soccer. The local soccer team draw about 13,000 per game which is considered very good for soccer in Canada. If football continues to boom in Quebec, we might see the Alouettes play a few games a year at Olympic Stadium, but they are the only ones with the potential to fill that place.

Luckaly I have been there myself to see it in person.So have I. I visited the stadium, swimming pool, biodome (former velodrome) and went up the tower back in September 2004. I might scan my photos once (I still used a classic camera at that time) and post them here.

First time post! I got to go the Olympic Stadium for the 2006 Eastern Final between the Argos and Alouettes. The two things that stuck out in my mind was how incredible the architecture was and the sheer size of place.

When you walk around the inside of the concourse under the seating area you can see how extraordinary the design is as you will see in my pictures below. You get an understanding of why its cost was in the billions. The concourse areas are so huge and long that when I was in some areas of the stadium I didn’t see a single other person for 10 minutes even though there was about 35,000 people there that day. It feels like you are walking around the inside of some sort of future space station, or something out of a movie. If any of you have seen the movie Get Smart the evil headquarters of KAOS was filmed next to the food stands on the upper concourse.

The problem with the massive size is how far away you are from the playing surface. The CFL field is bigger then both a soccer field and an NFL field and you are still miles away from the action regardless of how good your seats are. Due to this massive layout I have no idea what they could actually use it for. The sections I was sitting in looked like they hadn’t been used or cleaned since the Olympics. The food stands and the washrooms certainly had that 1970’s look to them.



The futuristic space station look:

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pBpLma0zS5zQlodtPenVTCZ9gl8T4C_l0In-FDBURwENNNgBGhdHnQNVWcMuL5GA8S_keEb8T-f4/20061112_IMG_0212.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pltZ6n8vefFX9WtMxbb5eF4s4VUlr6S5Ik13pEfG6bkr7gDrYBa76TFk1caBoo4_U2z-us_Z7hFU/20061112_IMG_0198.JPG

The retro food stands:

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pX629A-h02YsrZWsJvaheEC787vUIMQN-D3zhXExDA6dpUEq4q5PwA1HXvtyyQ-Wpnn54gpsEeqY/20061112_IMG_0197.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pLU2Ji60_J5tohszMdYSWTsy_aUnxXW2NLd-rs3DsJfImCd6WuknCx17nIqgFni5MGD-Z3_oUyYM/20061112_IMG_0169.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pPufOswyPWcXZD6iVbeYYKbOyaFlciiLIvrba0tamTLGbrCEGAUsDAcoER43Y0JGKc9hOO7JCG1g/20061112_IMG_0171.JPG

You can see in the pic below one of the large concrete sections above the entrance ways that fell onto the walkway in the early 1990's:

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pjcIS21L-xfrK0UFz9_b7HIpvRKE3LHxf1jeJHUJzLP0Z5HL0tf2sayLrhTZt__OWQy01PK_6q7o/20061112_IMG_0172.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1ptud675qoU44viSutUH8kIUZ1eTZKJBrf8ooJznSBaYOHVSXjwnWHApkevW3FFrelTmT_kp-OMBI/20061112_IMG_0173.JPG

Notice the dirty seats in the bottom left corner:

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pc6AbFdUbR22nN_eBcnHyGlzGMyDlWMUQZ6SPb3Q37vskDsRi9IcpxREUuBVyRe2ArMRBuPUJs64/20061112_IMG_0174.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pHn341GnceF1zdEiJt3fVHCFB1aTp6G72EN1otyZsRqBzbAcPviwXPxVLXw6S8kfaLtSC2Aab4e0/20061112_IMG_0192.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1ppbONZK-9mI3p2GneOof-gFsOiwWtwQHZI40lvQjvhNBYd-mjxvSxQvTkgwVnA1LFu-Rf9FWjFWw/20061112_IMG_0204.JPG

The view from the expensive seats (notice how far you are from the players):

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pyARImjkYBzqn4SzI-YuJ956XOBjnYFKbz53BO7RD2PTQ3SzJaoJFu_RVJUSwl6kC97tkJ7gur2k/20061112_IMG_0208.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1ps5U44tqUm0e6P7sJHrK-yK_BQn3mW0W4uwgqr7VLDCFR_0F80qqypKqLEdITO45Yt8xLeCvZTCQ/20061112_IMG_0207.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pQcWukXnI5bR8eokO-XPHaSfbtfvZTaU48K3_QaoV0xZnA4DVbKcEFpQJmjhUk851mhnUsBSCPC8/20061112_IMG_0211.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pb6mnpbOfNO2mnKxZxICWGde_QcsivNTTVlZExst77iBxDsTYGzYx_kZLGk1pSO10hzMfVyzLqZ4/20061112_IMG_0220.JPG

http://wslcmg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1poToEKKQPQcxFaKBiKYHQKHc2q__H4em_NlVV4foYBgrPRy19TVIvXezsPz4RRlLpUfgJNJOddM0/20061112_IMG_0227.JPG


Now that the Expos are gone and the Alouettes have left the only thing I could think to do with the place (if they could bare spending several million more) is return the inside layout to the way it was during the Olympics. At least you might once again attract some large sporting events like Edmonton has managed to do with Commonwealth Stadium.

Whole place just needs the mother of all facelifts if it wants to be relevant. Gut it.

Yea, baseball destroyed the inside. For the sake of this stadium it needs to return to it's Olympic mode, and I say that as a running track hater.

No wonder Montrealers prefer Molson Stadium for football games. I'd hate to watch football in Olympic Stadium too. Those sight lines are awful.

The Olympic Stadium will be hosting the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal between the Montreal Impact and Santos Laguna on February 25th.

Cool. I'd assume Stade Saputo isn't an option given Montreal's weather this time of year? Shame, that'd be a real advantage for them.

They could tear out and realign most of the lower deck, replace all the seats and spiff up the concourses, maybe fix the scoreboard end and it could be a good football stadium. The sightlins in the upper deck look like they are fine, its just the lower that needs help, which is relatively easy to do. That would save a really cool structure and be much cheaper than building a new one.

Cool. I'd assume Stade Saputo isn't an option given Montreal's weather this time of year? Shame, that'd be a real advantage for them.

Yeah, chances are the pitch at Saputo would be under several feet of snow by then and not to mention that the ground itself would be frozen.

They could tear out and realign most of the lower deck, replace all the seats and spiff up the concourses, maybe fix the scoreboard end and it could be a good football stadium. The sightlins in the upper deck look like they are fine, its just the lower that needs help, which is relatively easy to do. That would save a really cool structure and be much cheaper than building a new one.

I think most people, including me, would love to see exactly that kind of renovation take place. The biggest problem would be... money! The stadium itself in the end cost the Montreal taxpayers about $1 billion so don't expect any public funds for such a project. The only way I see something of the sort happening is if the stadium ever falls into private hands, be it a person or a team, and they fork out the dough to get it done. But I wouldn't hold my breath...

Under several feet of snow on 25th the February? Well Montreal isn't situated that north and it's almost on the same meridian as Bucharest having similar continental climate?

Do people realize what country this is in? You're just not going to be able to fill a 65,000 stadium on a regular basis for soccer. Refurbishing Olympic Stadium to be a soccer stadium is a complete waste of money. 20,000 is the right size.

It's mindboggling how many people assume soccer is as big here as it is around the world. It's like Canadians going over to Italy and wanting a 45,000 seater for baseball. I understand love for your game, but you're letting it cloud your judgement.

Canadian football and baseball are the only sports in this country that can fill a stadium over 40,000. Hockey would too, but an arena that size doesn't make sense.

Under several feet of snow on 25th the February? Well Montreal isn't situated that north and it's almost on the same meridian as Bucharest having similar continental climate?

Don't be fooled by Montreal's latitude with respect to Europe. Europe benefits from the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. Our winters are generally harsher and incur much larger amounts of snowfall than what you see in Europe. Consider also that nobody is clearing snow off the pitch all winter so it accumulates. I live across the street from a large park with a soccer field, and believe me, it remains completely covered with several feet of snow well into late March.

Do people realize what country this is in? You're just not going to be able to fill a 65,000 stadium on a regular basis for soccer. Refurbishing Olympic Stadium to be a soccer stadium is a complete waste of money. 20,000 is the right size.

It's mindboggling how many people assume soccer is as big here as it is around the world. It's like Canadians going over to Italy and wanting a 45,000 seater for baseball. I understand love for your game, but you're letting it cloud your judgement.

Canadian football and baseball are the only sports in this country that can fill a stadium over 40,000. Hockey would too, but an arena that size doesn't make sense.

I can only speak for myself, but I was never suggesting that a renovated Olympic Stadium would be a proper home for say the Montreal Impact or even the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL to play in. But considering the fact that baseball will probably never return to this city, transforming the stadium to properly host soccer and football could at the very least turn a white elephant into a viable sports venue again. You could easily attract big name teams for summer friendlies, and more comfortably host one-off events like the Grey Cup, or how about a CONCACAF Champions League Final sometime down the road?

one of the most beautiful stadiums for me! :)

Don't be fooled by Montreal's latitude with respect to Europe. Europe benefits from the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. Our winters are generally harsher and incur much larger amounts of snowfall than what you see in Europe. Consider also that nobody is clearing snow off the pitch all winter so it accumulates. I live across the street from a large park with a soccer field, and believe me, it remains completely covered with several feet of snow well into late March.



I can only speak for myself, but I was never suggesting that a renovated Olympic Stadium would be a proper home for say the Montreal Impact or even the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL to play in. But considering the fact that baseball will probably never return to this city, transforming the stadium to properly host soccer and football could at the very least turn a white elephant into a viable sports venue again. You could easily attract big name teams for summer friendlies, and more comfortably host one-off events like the Grey Cup, or how about a CONCACAF Champions League Final sometime down the road?


if you restore it to it's olympic form you could host athletics also.

While a unique stadium architecturally, it has been a complete disaster since they put the roof on in 1987, and has no reason to exist anymore. There are no major track and field events in North America worth converting the stadium for, and the CFL doesn't need to use more than 30,000 on a regular basis. Blow the thing up.

http://www.stadiumdrawings.blogspot.com

Don't be fooled by Montreal's latitude with respect to Europe. Europe benefits from the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. Our winters are generally harsher and incur much larger amounts of snowfall than what you see in Europe. Consider also that nobody is clearing snow off the pitch all winter so it accumulates. I live across the street from a large park with a soccer field, and believe me, it remains completely covered with several feet of snow well into late March.



I can only speak for myself, but I was never suggesting that a renovated Olympic Stadium would be a proper home for say the Montreal Impact or even the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL to play in. But considering the fact that baseball will probably never return to this city, transforming the stadium to properly host soccer and football could at the very least turn a white elephant into a viable sports venue again. You could easily attract big name teams for summer friendlies, and more comfortably host one-off events like the Grey Cup, or how about a CONCACAF Champions League Final sometime down the road?

That's what I'd suggest. It could be used when needed by the Alouettes and Impact, or even host Canada's national teams.

I can only speak for myself, but I was never suggesting that a renovated Olympic Stadium would be a proper home for say the Montreal Impact or even the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL to play in. But considering the fact that baseball will probably never return to this city, transforming the stadium to properly host soccer and football could at the very least turn a white elephant into a viable sports venue again. You could easily attract big name teams for summer friendlies, and more comfortably host one-off events like the Grey Cup, or how about a CONCACAF Champions League Final sometime down the road?

Fair enough. I do hate to see Olympic Stadium used so seldom. I still consider it the the most amazing stadium in the world, and one of this country's iconic structures. Baseball will likely never return to Olympic Stadium, and that's a good thing. The baseball configuration ruined the inside.

The complete oval should be restored and Montreal should attempt to land the World Track and Field Championships. As much as I'd like to see football return, I think the any team will begin to suffer if they moved to that facility. The sight lines are just awful.

Tearing it down is not an option. It's the symbol of the city known the world over. It would be like tearing the Sydney Opera House down. Like it or not, Montreal needs to eventually spend the money to make this a nice stadium to watch sports. I saw an interesting idea for BC Place Stadium where an artificial roof line that blocked out the upper bowl was used to create a smaller intimate space for soccer. This could work here too. Perhaps then football, soccer, and other events will return here on a regular basis.

The big O will host a CONCACAF champions game in February! :banana:

Hopefully they draw a good crowd. Montreal should be very proud of the Impact, Canadian sports fans as a whole should actually.

second hand news from big soccer says they are past 20,000 tickets sold with 5 weeks to go

http://www.globalphotos.org/montreal/20040313/RIMG4188.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/montreal/20040313/RIMG4261.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/montreal/20040313/RIMG4316.jpg

second hand news from big soccer says they are past 20,000 tickets sold with 5 weeks to go

Latest reports indicate they have hit the 40,000 mark.

wow!! spectacular!

With more than two weeks to go, this game is sure to sell out.

Pics from today. 43,000 tickets sold already and with the Montreal Impact back in town training they should sell out. They've already discussed using the temporary seating from the Grey Cup to boost the capacity to 58,000.

http://www.impactmontreal.com/PepePhoto/Images/Photo7-8022.jpg

http://www.impactmontreal.com/PepePhoto/Images/Photo5-7757.jpg

http://www.impactmontreal.com/PepePhoto/Images/Photo2-7816.jpg

http://www.impactmontreal.com/PepePhoto/Images/Photo1-7777.jpg

http://www.impactmontreal.com/PepePhoto/Images/Photo3-7895.jpg

55,571 on hand there tonight. Great result for their boys as well.

I was here! 2-0 FOR MONTREALLLLL!!!!!!!!!

http://mediamanager.oc3.generationflash.com/client_utils/_resize_picture_portal.php?member=cp&w=581&h=392&img=033_5877_140745.jpg

Great crowd for a soccer game in Canada.

http://www.ultrasmontreal.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6594

Photos from Ultras Montreal.

Bravo Montréal !!!
This stadium is not dead anymore !

The French supercup of football will be played in this stadium next july !!


Radio Canada:
Le Trophée des champions de France se transportera à Montréal cet été.

Le 26 juillet, le champion de France, l'Olympique de Marseille ou les Girondins de Bordeaux, retrouvera le vainqueur de la Coupe de France, Guingamp (2e division).

C'est la première fois que le match sera disputé hors des frontières de l'Hexagone. Le match est d'autant plus unique que Guincamp est seulement le premier club de 2e division en 50 ans à gagner la Coupe de France.

L'Impact de Montréal serait engagé dans l'organisation du match, qui pourrait avoir lieu au Stade olympique.

I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner. Ligue 1 should be much more popular in Quebec than it is and all it takes is some outreach and visibility like this. Considering L'impact de Montreal draw 13,000 per game in the 2nd tier of North American soccer and had 57,000 for Champions League quarterfinal the appetite for the sport is clearly there.

Ligue 1 should be much more popular in Quebec than it is

Why? Because they speak French in France???

People really need to realize that Quebec and France represent two very separate cultures. In fact, I would say that the Quebecois in general prefer that association not be made as they find it to be insulting to their own distinct culture.

With the exception of people from certain backgrounds (Greek, Portuguese, etc.) who follow the domestic leagues of their homelands, I would say that the average soccer fan watches what most of the rest of the world watches ... Champions League, EPL, La Liga, Serie A. I don't see any "extra" reason why Ligue 1 should be especially popular here.

The most original olympic stadium before Sydney and Athens. J'adore!

^^j'adore aussi !!!!!

The stadium's a farce and now only used on occasion for playoff games and the occasional international meet. What I would do is build a new conventional in design, modern stadium of 70,000+ capacity (perhaps convertible like Paris' Stadium), in the nearby open park.

Then I would gut the inside and convert the stadium into a shopping mall. Obviously, the funds need to be made, and no conversion of the Olympic Stadium until after the new stadium is built.

Perhaps after all this is done in the 2020's the former Olympic Stadium will know be known as Olympic Mall? :P

The stadium's a farce and now only used on occasion for playoff games and the occasional international meet. What I would do is build a new conventional in design, modern stadium of 70,000+ capacity (perhaps convertible like Paris' Stadium), in the nearby open park.

Then I would gut the inside and convert the stadium into a shopping mall. Obviously, the funds need to be made, and no conversion of the Olympic Stadium until after the new stadium is built.

Perhaps after all this is done in the 2020's the former Olympic Stadium will know be known as Olympic Mall? :P

and what tenant will be using this new 70,000 seat facility to justify its construction?

and what tenant will be using this new 70,000 seat facility to justify its construction?

The Montreal Alouettes of course.

Molson Stadium being a part of the McGill University, will still be used for university events.

Perhaps 70,000 is a little too much, but given the Alouettes as a potential tenant, with the Soccer team playing some games there, the stadium does have potential. All that is needed is the funding to support such a thing.

At any rate, this is the logical choice when it is decided that the Olympic Stadium needs to be replaced.

why don't they just refurbish the stadium and make it the Alouette's home stadium? Why don't we just scrap that Bell Center and bring the Canadiens to the Olympic stadium? I'm sure that we would have full houses at each game!

Montreal's Olympic stadium aka the BIG O, The White Elephant, the Big D'OH!, Montreal's enormous toilet bowl
http://www.pleasedancewithme.com/ClipArtOlympicStadiumMontreal.jpg
This stadium was built for the 1976 Olympics, cost gigantic sums of money and is now largely unused.

At ~66 000 seats, it was a stadium that accommodated different sports (baseball, Football, soccer) but didn't accommodate any of them properly. It possesses terrible acoustics as well, so hosting concerts is always tricky.

It had a retractable roof that FAILED, and multiple fixed roofs that failed as much after wards. The concrete is now chipped all around, its in dismal state nowadays, and barely used.

And yet it is a Montreal Landmark.Its leaning tower is gives a nice view of the city, and it is the only 30 000+ seat venue in the whole province.

My question is... what do we do with it now? Is there any creative uses for a a concrete monster such as this?


EDIT: wiki link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Olympic_Stadium)

My question is... what do we do with it now? Is there any creative uses for a a concrete monster such as this?


Men in Black 3. It's 2012 doomsday, and all the aliens decide to leave Earth on the biggest hidden (and yet so obvious) spaceship of them all.

The Als and Impact are happy to be where they are ... no way are they going to move into Stade Olympique or any stadium that is similar in size ... that is going to kill their atmosphere. I think the biggest stadium the Als would ever want is about 35 - 40 thousand where as it remains to be seen how successful the Impact would be when they join MLS ... I don't think a stadium bigger than 28-30 thousand would be suitable for them.

There are a couple of things the city is doing to help revive the stadium area. For example, right now there are plans being drawn up for the construction of a new planetarium. The soccer stadium on the lot of the BIG O is being expanded. There are some condo construction and the general area around the BIG O is being revived as well.

Hopefully, this Stadium will be saved. It indeed is an image for the city.

I think the city should forget about having a permanent tenant in the form of a sports team and instead focus on making it an even bigger one-off events type venue. Use it for even more international soccer friendlies, massive concerts. Or how about holding a Habs game there every year? That will be awesome too ... they should aim to break the attendance record set in Germany this year.

Either way, this certainly is not the only stadium in the world that sits generally without a permanent sports team. However, as the biggest stadium in the city, it still has a lot of potential and I think that should be maximized.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/192942165_ffd494ea21_z.jpg?zz=1
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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/30765825_3acc962a95_b.jpg

Boy that brings back memories.

And I really think that if they spruced up the insides of the place, it'd be doable for the very least the Alouettes. While I love where they're playing now, it's too small and I dont' thikn they can expand at that location. heck it'll be the smallest stadium in the league if it's not already. Refurbish this place, get the 30-40k in that will fill the place if Quebec City gets a team (and they should...the rivalry practically guarentees sellouts), and the place might actually turn a profit for once.

They did expand Molson, they put 5,000 new seats in this year.

Former pitcher Jerry Reuss took these in 1990 (much bigger pics at his flickr site):

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af252/bucket3nyy/olympic.jpg

I never understood why the Impact wanted to build their own stadium to try and get into the MLS. Just use this stadium. Reconfigure the stands for a more football-friendly feel and play there. It needs a facelift badly.

I never understood why the Impact wanted to build their own stadium to try and get into the MLS. Just use this stadium. Reconfigure the stands for a more football-friendly feel and play there. It needs a facelift badly.

Beeeeeecaaauuuuseeee not even the most popular teams in the MLS can fill a 65,000 seat stadium? Even then, It only cost them $15 to build Saputo stadium and its only going to cost them another $40 to make it a 20,000 seater. I seriously doubt you could reconfigure the seating bowl and give the place a face lift for less than $55mil. And I imagine a 20,000 seat outdoor stadium costs a lot less to run for a match than a 65,000 seat indoor stadium with a roof that doesn't work.

And thats not even to say they AREN't using it. It will be their special events venue.

They also control all revenues from Stade Saputo as well. They wouldn't at the O.

And yea, they already use it for games too big for Saputo, that will certainly continue. Similar to what the Alos do, really. It isn't cost effective for either team to play there year round.

Like his stadium design its great for a 70s design but think that the SkyDome is alot better. (Don't just to fight, Please) But the roof really needs to be fixed or it might have to be pulled down If only the cost was lower. Cant see how it would cost $500m canadan to knock it down.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/60/155249093_fb9d653e64_b.jpg


Does the B.C. Place in Vancouver still have the old FieldTurf from Stade Olympique? When the Expos became the Washington Nationals, I read that the last playing surface used by the Expos was sent to the B.C. Place.

Does the B.C. Place in Vancouver still have the old FieldTurf from Stade Olympique? When the Expos became the Washington Nationals, I read that the last playing surface used by the Expos was sent to the B.C. Place.

They bought new turf that is currently being used at Empire Field and will be moved into BC Place after the renovation is done.

Looks like there's a push to bring a MLB team back to Montreal:
http://itsonbad.com/sports/36-sports/930-conference-board-of-canada-says-montreal-can-support-baseball.html

One thing's for sure, a new (outdoor) stadium will almost certainly be a must!

Looks like there's a push to bring a MLB team back to Montreal:
http://itsonbad.com/sports/36-sports/930-conference-board-of-canada-says-montreal-can-support-baseball.html

One thing's for sure, a new (outdoor) stadium will almost certainly be a must!

one error with that article, Texas and Houston are NOT small market teams.

one error with that article, Texas and Houston are NOT small market teams.

Agreed I just realized last year that Houston is #4 on population and is gaining on chicago fast!

Agreed I just realized last year that Houston is #4 on population and is gaining on chicago fast!
It has nothing to do with city population. It's all about metro population, especially with baseball. A team needs close to five million within 120 miles to be successful. Look at Oakland and San Francisco, both medium sized cities, but the population within 120 miles is close to 10 million.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2297037805_1ba122d3df_b.jpg


http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-4398/RIO_11_aerienne_est.jpg


http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-4404/RIO_17_coupe_grey_2008_MV8607.jpg

http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-4397/RIO_10_aerienne_du_stade_1976.JPG


http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-4394/RIO_07_interieur_du_stade_1976.JPG


http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-4396/RIO_09_aerienne_Parc_1976.JPG



http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-4400/RIO_14_ceremonies_ouverture_JO1976.JPG


http://www.stadeolympiquemontreal.ca/resources/les_4_toits_successifs_aspx/parc-olympique-durant-les-jeux-1976-hires.jpg

Such a hideous stadium. Does the stadium really have much of a future?

When was this stadium an open-air one?

Why did they decide to put a roof on it?

At least one good looking stadium across the pond.

The athletics configuration looked really nice. Too bad they didn't keep it. Should remove the dome part and modernise it with both football codes in mind a la BC Place Vancouver

When was this stadium an open-air one?

Why did they decide to put a roof on it?

Originally, when the stadium/tower was completed, almost a decade after the 1976 games, it had a retractable roof (the first one in the world). But due to the very cold climate, this roof never worked well and it even collapsed, especially because the Québec authorities chose a modified & cheaper version of the retractable roof originally designed by the French architect* of the stadium. That's why finally they decided to put a fixed roof in the early 90s (this fixed roof has had several problems too).


* Roger Taillibert, the French architect who also designed the Parc des Princes in Paris... that's why the two stadiums look alike :). BTW Roger Taillibert is furious against this fixed roof...




Here are some pics of the original retractable roof:

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/3884/zoomimg2004012315513414.jpg

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/976/zoomimg2004012315513413.jpg

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/608/zoomimg2004012315513412.jpg

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/9607/gallerycopie.jpg

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/8695/fsgnx.jpg




PS: Apparently, the planned refurbishment project includes a new roof (again :D) which will be retractable.. :dunno:

fmpLL_VMAtc

Originally, when the stadium/tower was completed, almost a decade after the 1976 games, it had a retractable roof (the first one in the world).
:

Pittsburgh's Civic Arena is older than this stadium.

I always liked this stadium. it looked great as an athletic stadium and worked well for baseball but it seems using it for multipurpose after baseball really gutted the inside and made it not so good for other sports. did the roof ever actually work? i feel like i've read conflicting reports in relation to that aspect of stadium.

^^The stadium's retractable roof mechanism failed to work after its first use.

http://deadballbaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/montrealpostcard.jpg



if you want to see more stadia pictures , Please visit below URL.


http://cafe.daum.net/stade/before the roof was built (http://cafe.daum.net/stade/5Ay7/831)


http://cafe.daum.net/stade/after the roof was built (http://cafe.daum.net/stade/5Ay7/832)



http://www.cslaval.qc.ca/prof-inet/anim/CG/toit/galerie1/indices/stadeol1976.jpg

Baseball did indeed screw up the inside. The Expos should have never moved in here. Should have stuck at Jerry Park.

http://deadballbaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/montrealpostcard.jpg



if you want to see more stadia pictures , Please visit below URL.


http://cafe.daum.net/stade/before the roof was built (http://cafe.daum.net/stade/5Ay7/831)


http://cafe.daum.net/stade/after the roof was built (http://cafe.daum.net/stade/5Ay7/832)



http://www.cslaval.qc.ca/prof-inet/anim/CG/toit/galerie1/indices/stadeol1976.jpg

Wow thats the only open air football shot I have seen and it looks really good! Shame they never got roof to retract right!

Pittsburgh's Civic Arena is older than this stadium.

You're right but I meant 'for a stadium'. ;)
Because for example, in terms of arenas equipped with a retractable roof, the Colosseum in Rome and its retractable roof (Velarium) were built 19 centuries before the Pittsburgh arena :D.


-------------

Some more old pics of the Stade Olympique:

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/3438/2593756694683244b02eoco.jpg

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/37/p7616991copie.jpg

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1174/2876copie2.jpg

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/5005/gallery5copie.jpg

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/2585/zoomimg2004012315513410.jpg

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/4981/gallery3copie.jpg

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/7100/image3copie.jpg



Bonus:

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9697/coupem.jpg

Man, it's sad that Labatt Park never came to be. The Expos would still be in Montreal today. Olympic Stadium is not a bad place for football, but for baseball it was terrible. Didn't they used to have the old track lanes serve as the warning track at once?

Man, it's sad that Labatt Park never came to be. The Expos would still be in Montreal today. Olympic Stadium is not a bad place for football, but for baseball it was terrible. Didn't they used to have the old track lanes serve as the warning track at once?


Yup:
http://www.playle.com/KDL/10515.jpg

...I guess with many problem with that stadium, why won't they rebuild that stdium with same design, but a little larger stadium & lighter roof with capacity maximum 70k seats???
One thing, I feel it's ugly if it used for baseball or softball (tell me which one is right one).
P.S. is it built over the land surface?

http://vieillemarde.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/stade_6001.jpg

...I guess with many problem with that stadium, why won't they rebuild that stdium with same design, but a little larger stadium & lighter roof with capacity maximum 70k seats???
One thing, I feel it's ugly if it used for baseball or softball (tell me which one is right one).
P.S. is it built over the land surface?
They won't rebuild with the same design, because the design is badly flawed, and expensive to build. The stadium's seating and roofline slope toward the tower, which required a number of unique (and expensive) structural pieces. The concrete part of the roof is too heavy; and the materials used for the center were too flimsy. And the majority of the fans were too far from the field. You can get away with that in a soccer stadium in Africa or Asia, because the fans don't know any better there. But that distance hurts attendance in North America.

Another problem is trying to put both baseball and football in the same venue. There are only three venues in North America where that is still done. One of those (Miami) will change within two years, and changing another (Oakland) is in the works.

Historically neither baseball nor Canadian Football can draw 70,000 fans, except for possibly the Grey Cup game.

Baseball is the professional sport.

...I guess with many problem with that stadium, why won't they rebuild that stdium with same design, but a little larger stadium & lighter roof with capacity maximum 70k seats???
One thing, I feel it's ugly if it used for baseball or softball (tell me which one is right one).
P.S. is it built over the land surface?

Is it possible, should say an Olympics want to return to Montreal, to have the roof dismantled, add a 3rd tier to increase capacity to 70,000 minimum (athletics/football mode), expand the concourses and add a new roof structure?

Then you'd have the opportunity to build a proper retractable roof supported by the structure which would be either in the likes of BC Place or the likes of Skydome, but not like the original.

It will obviously be significantly different to Roger Taillibert's design, but this could work yes? And given the cost to actually dismantle the darn thing one by one, what better way to spend funds then to rebuild the stadium to a much larger capacity.

what better way to spend funds then to rebuild the stadium to a much larger capacity.
Almost anything would be better than sending good money after bad in this money pit. The tower and other buildings are actually making money at this point. Build something new for the Alouettes that won't cost the equivalent of $1.6 billion, and let the stadium rot.

Well the alternative I have considered in the past might just work.

Eliminate the nearby golf course or some of it. If another major event like the Olympics comes around again, then this site would probably be the site of a new main stadium.

Alternatively, it might also be the site of a new major stadium, if it's not to be located downtown.

As for the Olympic Stadium? Why not convert it to a shopping mall? Have the roof replaced with something permanent, the seating stands removed and gutted, and the whole stadium interior turned into a 2 level shopping mall which would be part of the aquatics center. Heck, the roof could be transparent so that those viewing from the tower can see the shops and shoppers inside the stadium mall.

I believe the all time record attendance for Olympic Stadium was 76,000 at a soccer game in the late 1970s. The complete bowl was dismantled to form a U, but there was talk about rebuilding the complete bowl for the Grey Cup (Canadian Football) a few years ago. That game was sold out with a listed attendance of 66,308.

I doubt the Alouettes will ever move back to Olympic Stadium. It's architecturally interesting, but just not a great facility to watch sports.

I really like the stadium in olympic mode

Here are some plans (© Agence Roger Taillibert):

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3121/stadeo.jpg

http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/5101/stadeo8.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/8062/stadeo4.jpg



http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/8876/stadeo7.jpg

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/8342/stadeo3.jpg

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9697/coupem.jpg

Where did you get it? Can you send me the link. I wondering if I want try to make that venue model by myself [short laugh] :lol: .