According to Damien Cox "very possible at the moment" that the Argonauts could be joining the XFL in 2023

You have to remember that it was built at the time to have a full track around it for the Olympics and they didn’t or weren’t able to due to technical issues at the time to make it smaller afterwards to eliminate that not needed extra space required for a track for both baseball and football, which in itself means considerations space-wise for both sports. But yes, so much money for this stadium, a “legacy” for decades to follow to this day. And the Expos gone, just a wow. Unfortunate. The Als were fortunate to be able to find a home eventually at McGill which can be worked on as it has with time. I still say the Argos would have been best at Varsity with a deal worked out with U of T but that would/will have had a track around it but with today’s technology seating could be moveable at least on one side as necessary. Personally I think even if people aren’t baseball fans, it would be a shame if the Blue Jays ever left the Rogers Centre, Canada wouldn’t want another “legacy” situation. But this is not going to happen I hardly doubt.
As Hf says: “The thing may end up being there as long as the Roman Coliseum.”

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It can’t be knocked down, too much concrete and rebar I don’t think they could blow it up either. If you have never seen it in person it is amazing. It will stand for a thousand years.

Not just that. It’s a poor structural design. It’s wonder that the thing hasn’t fallen on it’s own. The arch pillars have been reinforced a few times or it would have. You can youtube Tailibert back in 74 bragging about his tower design, tossing his little model tower around and claiming it impossible to fall. It fell during construction and killed a bunch of workers. The underground parking lot has caved in. These are just the structural problems.

Then you have the terrible sightlines due to the shallow bowl (track or no track, that’s irrelevant) and the pointless and largely unnavigable concourse. It’s the only stadium that I’ve ever been lost in, the only stadium that you seemingly can’t walk around in, and all this despite the fact that there is plenty of space! It’s a mindboggling bad design in every way.

Hard for me to say since I haven’t been around the world but I’d be willing to bet that it’s the worst-designed major stadium in the history of architecture.

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It is an impressive LOOKING structure yes, but that novelty wears off after about 10 minutes, It will not stand for a thousand years, in fact it would have fallen on it’s own sometime in the 90s if not for major repairs, very costly major repairs that they will have to do every few years to keep it from falling.

It’s JUNK.

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Every few years? It is a 70 year old design built almost 50 years ago and will be getting its first makeover. YOur only valid complaint is the low grade putting fans too far away from the action. I would add the accoustics for music will never be good for obvious reasons.

Many, Olympic stadiums built since have already been destroyed, abandonned.

Read me again.

I’ve never gotten lost in the place.

It is one of the only stadiums in the world where you can get from just about anywhere downtown to your seat without stepping outside.

It is one of the only stadiums in the world with a 4000 car underground (indoor parkade) of which one section can fit one hundred tractor-trailers or Coach underground.

Stadium that holds every attendance records in Canada , sports, concerts, opera, conventions…

You can have it and you can pay the millions to fix it every year, and you still can’t host a Grey Cup in it (or even a U2 concert between Halloween and Easter) until the roof is fixed.

It’s all yours. Enjoy.

I just hope the renovations are well done like they were at BC Place

BC Place was completely gutted (including roof) and was basically a brand new stadium (except for the walls) with totally new retractable roof, seats and playing field, as well as locker room, etc. That was done for the 2010 Olympics.
Question is whether they in Montreal are just replacing the roof on the Big Owe, or everything inside (seats, field, concessions, washrooms, locker rooms, etc.)?

Actually it was renovated AFTER the Olympics.

This interview is from last year.

The vice-president of operations and commercial development of the Olympic Park, Alain Larochelle, began to make Montreal sports fans dream Tuesday evening in an interview with Mario Langlois at Les Amateurs de sports.

The manager explained at length his vision of the Olympic Stadium which, according to him, will be equipped to survive the next 50 years, once the work is completed.

First, Larochelle revealed that he had offered the Alouettes and CF Montreal the possibility of playing games at Olympic Stadium in 2021.

“We are in the midst of a commercial shift. And in this sense, we believe, respecting the rules of distancing, to be able to accommodate up to 11,000 people in our stadium. If we limit ourselves to the bottom bowl, we could go up to 6,000.

We are also seriously considering getting a new playing surface. The one that is currently in place really needs to be replaced. We would be talking here about having one of the best surfaces in the world, which would be FIFA Quality Pro approved.

Several athletes who recently played in Montreal on the current surface have complained about its wear.

For the moment, we are not talking about welcoming clubs to the stadium full-time, but simply offering them an alternative in these pandemic times.

Canvas replacement

If everything falls into place, the stadium’s old roof should give way to a new removable roof in the next few years. The start of work is scheduled for 2022, with a reopening of the stadium planned for the spring of 2024.

In addition, the stadium’s sound system will be improved, which will also make it possible to host concerts, something that has not been possible for several years. The locker rooms will also be renovated, a wifi system and advertising screens will also be added.

Montreal has studied a lot of what was done in Vancouver with the renovations done to BC Place after their Olympic Games. Nearly $600 million has been invested in the stadium to make it modern and up to date. They too saw their canvas tear in 2008.

The 2026 World Cup

Larochelle says he understands the provincial government’s withdrawal from the 2026 World Cup, but that won’t stop work from moving forward.

“We are in solidarity with the government of Quebec, we understand their reasons, but we here, the big events, we came into the world for that. We are here for that. We anticipated this event. You have to understand that the replacement of the canvas has nothing to do with the World Cup.

And baseball?

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has already let the folks at Project Baseball Montreal know that Olympic Stadium isn’t an option for the Expos’ return. Even a temporary transition would not be in the plans. But despite this, Larochelle keeps the door open.

“We’ve already made several improvements to baseball over the past few years because of Blue Jays games. In a project to bring baseball back to Montreal, we are an opportunity partner. If they want to come and play games here while waiting for the new stadium to be built, we are open to that. »

Larochelle admits that more than 10 million dollars have been lost during the pandemic, with more than 70 events canceled. Now is the time to start making the stadium profitable and make sure it is busy more often than not. This is an important shift that society is taking in this direction.

“We have to restart the machine,” he said. »

The works will be carried out with a multifunctional vision, to try to attract a multitude of different events.

The Olympic Stadium would remain open for about two more years, before closing its doors for the start of work.

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So in addition to the new roof, we are talking about a 2 year indoor renovation project.

It would be nice to see some mock up visuals of what they have planned .

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Wow have times changed. Post 9/11 et al and recent pandemic and with all the green considerations, I see no way sane that a stadium is built with vast underground infrastructure!

It seems like they never thought of the prospect of stadium renovation, including potential demolition, when this was proposed. Or perhaps in the rush to be ready for the Olympics, they did not care?

Montreal along with Moscow are considered the best public transit systems in the world. These stations were built 50 years ago, so they need to be maintained.

That would be nice.

A shortage of players there’s not. In fact there are plenty of those. What we have is a shortage of fans.

:slightly_frowning_face:

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Gets back to logistics - need a bunch of teams in a small geographic footprint -

A shortage that can be remedied by having more teams representing more communities nationally producing a deeper, more compelling competition for the Grey Cup.

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Agreed.

:slightly_smiling_face:

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