i'm going to montreal next month to watch the argos and als.
made me revisit my last trip to montreal in july 2010 and realized i had plenty of good pics of Percival Molson Stadium ( just after it was newly expanded ) that i never shared.
just like my trip to Winnipeg in July, i figured i'd post some pics of the stadium here for those who have never been, but want to see more than is shown on tv
these pics were taken the day before the als played a game. the wife and i ( then, just my GF ) had just walked to the top of mount royal and back down. when we got to the bottom, i noticed we were near Molson Stadium, so i figured i'd check it out a day before the game. as we approached, i happened to notice the gates were open. so we walked in and took an unguided and unofficial tour:
the als fans were very fun and welcoming.
some came right up to talk to me before the game and at halftime, as they recognized we were from ontario ( argos gear gave it away ). they were solid behind their team ( not as loud as winnipeg ). was great to hear the 'ben cahoooooooooooon' thing in person. during most sports events, there are people walking the aisle selling beer - in montreal, they sell shots, too.
after the game, which cleo lemon and the argos lost, we got heckled in french, but my wife speaks french, so they were shocked that we knew what they said. it was all in good fun, though. even though the argos lost, the habs fan in me couldn't resist participating during the 'ole ole ole' chant during the final 3 minutes. good times.
great place to watch a game. highly recommend anyone within driving distance to go. we stayed a week in montreal and it was so much fun. everyone there is so nice and don't care if you can't speak a lick of french ( everyone assumes the opposite ). even after our recent trip to winnipeg, we decided to go back to montreal this sept. instead of waiting for next summer.
if i could speak french, i'd consider moving there.
Looks like a cool little stadium. Definitely not the most modern stadium, but the atmosphere must be incredible I would imagine. Reall like the iron fences and stone walls. I wonder if they would consider doing another renovation in the future to modernize it a little more and fix it up. I love the history and retro look/feel of the stadium but there are a few things I would consider doing to it to help bring it up to standards. I would first repaint all the concrete throughout the stadium to match the freshness of the new sections. The old sections look very run down. If structurally possible the bench seating should be replaced with seats like the first couple of rows on the south side. A new larger scoreboard would look good. I think the biggest thing would be to completely gut and renovate the concourse under the stands. Just looking at the pictures the concourses don't look that big or seem to have a lot of selection. Does the stadium have any private suites? What are the dressing rooms and training facilities like? Is there a team store on site? I think with another $25 million renovation towards aethetics and modernization it could be a real first class jewel!
One question. On the upper tier of the new South side stands, it appears that every row has a guard rail running the entire lenth of the row? Is this a safety thing or are they for leaning on?
The 14th pic from the top shows the private suites. The broadcast booth is there as well, as I saw Suiter and Cuthbert inside calling the game.
The jumbotron is new, so I doubt it will be replaced anytime soon.
Yes, they have merchandise stores, as I entered one under the north stands. It's very tiny - like a sardine can - full of jerseys mostly. After visiting the bombers store at IGF, nothing else will measure up.
No offence to anyone from Montreal or anything, but when I see pics like this, I can’t help but wonder why Olympic Stadium get’s so much hate…
That place looks absolutely awful in terms of fan amenities. Bench seating with no backs? Ugly deformed, faded concrete everywhere? Small narrow concourses? No roof or fan protection to speak of?
How on earth is this somehow a better, less likely to be re-developed option than McMahon?
Looks absolutely brutal. I’d take Olympic Stadium over that place any day of the week!
Another thing I don’t get is how much Montrealer’s complain about the big O’s location…you have a subway system that takes you literally to its front door…do you know what we have to put up with in Ottawa? A minimum 40 minute bumper to bumper drive from downtown to the nearest pro sports arena…we do it.
Im from Montreal and a Als fans. I say my prayers everytime i enter the Olympic Stadium that i come out alive. Ill take snow, rain, bird caca or volcano ash anyday if i dont have to go to the Olympic Stadium.
i can agree, the place could use SOME improvements; painting the concrete to match the new stuff, improve the concourse area, and replace benches with seats. ( i thought the als should have bought the old blue seats from BC place and installed them at molson stadium ).
i haven't seen the dressing rooms, so i can't comment on that. perhaps the next time tsn.ca posts up an als pre or post game speach in their video player, we could get some insight on that.
considering how much work has already been done to bring molson stadium up to it's current conditions, i wouldn't be surprised to see more work done in the future to keep improving it.
the atmosphere at molson stadium is in a different category than the others. perhaps it's the location? it feels like a secret oasis in the heart of the city.
Problem with replacing bench seating is the drop in capacity of 10 to 20 percent depending how spacious you want to get. Also not sure there is even enough depth to install seats anyway. It won’t happen. What Montreal needs is to renovate or replace Olympic Stadium. When you factor the cost of constantly repairing that roof. a 250 to 300 million dollar stadium similar to what is in Winnipeg makes a lot of sense.
Actually the Big O is at a crossroads again they have gotten everything they could out of the current roof to the point where it can not be used during winter months with snow tearing holes in the roof.
With all of the new and renovated stadium going up all over Canada the country will be looking forward to more Worl Clas events such as the WWC.
The Big O will still be one of the main venues for 2015 and for the U20 in 2014 it will be the main venue not to mention the loss of any Grey Cups in Montreal should the place become condemmed.
It has been dicussed since december of 2012 and recently has become news again I guess with the WWC and U20 WWC.
One of the three major Metro areas in Canada Montreal should have a big enclosed venue that can be used all year round for a variety of events.
For the 2015 WWC the two main venues will be both the larger and recently upgraded BC place as well as Commonwealth field.
The Als themselves would be looking at major revenue losses form Playoff games as well as the city losing a revenue jolt to the economy that a Grey Cup will bring.
I think ALL ARGO's Fans should go to Montreal to watch their team play the Al's that will mean an extra 4000 fans added to Stade McGill Stadium better break out the extra seating Montreal the Argo's are coming to town!!!
