Stadium Saturdays - Olympic Stadium

 Hello Friends!

It's Saturday, meaning the newest installment of Stadium Saturdays. 

Today is another stadium that's no longer being used, but unlike Candlestick, is still standing. 

Of course, it's the White Elephant known as Olympic Stadium

I drew this as part of an art assignment in High School. Obviously the stickers were a later addition. 

Olympic Stadium, or Stade Olympique, was originally built for the 1976 Olympics then retrofitted for the Expos. 

The want for a covered stadium for Montreal started in the 1960s. Mayor Jean Drapeau believed that a covered stadium was essential to getting a MLB team to the city. The obvious weather problems being the reason. 

Originally the stadium was to be built by 1971. Charles Bronfman, owner of the Expos, was ready to walk if a deal wasn't in place (Seattle, Montreal.. Both had issues with stadiums and ending up playing in substandard facilities it seems) 

The stadium was built to have a retractable roof using a cable system. The cables were to hang from the adjacent tower to the field. 

Originally slated to be opened in 1972, construction was delayed due to strikes. The construction union head was tied to organized crime, and as a result, was causing much of the disorder with the project until the Quebec Premier paid him off. Other issues caused delays as well, such as the winters being generally ugly. 

The stadium and tower were unfinished before the Olympics. Materials for the roof were stored in a warehouse until 1982. The roof and tower weren't finished until 1987. The roof could not be used in winds above 25 mph.. Overall, it opened 88 times. 

Originally slated to cost $130 Million to complete, strikes, delays, and cost overruns caused the cost to balloon to $1.2 Billion dollars. 

A tobacco tax was added in 1976 to recoup the costs of the stadium. Once the stadium was paid, it would become property of the city of Montreal. It took until 2006 to fully pay it off.. The total expenditure: Construction, Strikes, overruns, inflation, etc, was $1.61 Billion. 

At different times, parts of the stadium started crumbling. A couple times the roof failed, causing a new roof to be installed. Better heating and runoff management was installed to keep the roof intact. The roof that was being used was dangerous with heavy rainfall or 3.1 inches of snow. 

The stadium was a multipurpose venue, also housing the CFL Montreal Alouettes. As a result, the lower seats were further away from the field. Part of the reason for this is the different dimensions of the field for the CFL compared to the NFL. The upper deck was so high up that it was generally useless for baseball games. 

The Expos weren't consulted at all about the field. As a result, they used other gimmicks to make it more baseball friendly. An Om-Pah band greeted patrons arriving by the Metro. If an opposing pitcher threw over to first instead of pitching, they would play the sound of a chicken clucking. 

Before the 1992 season, the running track was removed and the infield was moved closer to the stands.

There were other issues with the field though. The turf and the padding under the turf was very thin, as was the padding on the wall. The committee in charge of making any improvements to the stadium balked at the $1 million cost to change the turf and padding. As a result, it was hard to get free agents to come to Montreal. 

In the 1990s and early 2000s, we all know about the struggles of trying to get a new stadium. The Premier at the time, Lucien Bouchard,  balked at talks of a new stadium since The Big O wasn't paid off yet, plus at the time "How can we justify a new stadium when we're closing hospitals?"

The stadium is currently in a permanent football/soccer configuration. The stands can no longer be moved in order to play baseball. 

So.. Who's used this stadium???

Montreal Alouettes (CFL) 1976-1986, 1996-1997, Part time 1998-2013

Montreal Expos (MLB) 1977-2004

Montreal Maniac (NASL) 1981-1983

Montreal Machine (WLAF) 1991-1992

CF Montreal (MLS) 2012-present - select games. 

Having lived through the long, drawn out death of the Montreal Expos, I'm seeing a lot of parallels with the Oakland Athletics. Owner who wants to cash in elsewhere, years of being told the stadium sucks.. (and to be fair... Both stadiums have their issues) and lack of government cooperation. Obviously the constant firesales as well. It's hard to be a fan of a glorified Triple A team..

So what say you? Any memories of the Big Owe?.