Stade Olympique in Cards

 Hello Friends!

Today I'm going to show Olympic Stadium in Montreal in cards. 

There are only a few. The most interesting part of the place is the exterior, to be honest. But it was home to the first MLB team outside Canada.. Eventually.... 

So what I mean by that is this.. Montreal was given the team in 1969 on the condition that Jarry Park, which wasn't even suitable for minor league baseball, was used for two to three seasons at most. Olympic Stadium was supposed to be built and in use for 1972 or 1973. Instead, it didn't open until the Olympics in 1976 and the Expos didn't move in until 77.. 

It had the "first retractable roof" but the system never really worked. It would tangle and the tarps used would tear in heavy winds. So they played the "On-Off" game for the lifetime of the Expos. Sometimes the roof was on. Some years it was off.. It was... Different. 

The Big O (Or Owe, as it wasn't paid off fully until the last couple years) ran incredibly over budget. Part of the hesitation of getting the Expos a new stadium in the 90s was the amount still owing on Olympic Stadium. The other of course, being "How can we justify a stadium when we're closing hospitals?" -Lucien Bouchard, Premier of Quebec.. 

1994 Score showing the view from the right field foul area. Even being on the lower level,  you seem to be very far from the action. 

Doesn't this look like a spaceship? Especially with the sparkly effect from the sticker. 

It almost looks like it should be rubbing engines with the Enterprise. 

A less sparkly version of the stadium. 

This one is from the Women's World Cup Soccer sticker set. The roof is a newer style tarp and is permanently in place now. 

The stadium also housed CFL Football for years. Even after the Montreal Alouettes moved out of the stadium, they would have playoff games and Grey Cup games played at the stadium. 

Now, a stadium like The Big O is rather forgettable because of the design. Inside the place reminded me of some of the lower tier cookie cutters of the era. The outer design was like someone watched Star Trek and decided it would work as a stadium design. 

I miss the Expos, but I also know that until this stadium is no longer an option and a new one is built, Montreal has no chance at another team.