Olympic Stadium closes playing field as part of roof replacement pitch

Are you a stadium half-full or half-empty type of person? Your answer will determine whether you believe the closing of the Montreal Olympic Stadium's playing field is a first step toward the Big O's bright future — or yet another item on a long list documenting its decline.

The floor is not broken, nor is there a (known) risk of something falling from above. Rather, the closure, announced Tuesday afternoon, is described by the agency that operates the stadium as "exploratory work" related to "developing the business case" to replace the stadium's perennially problematic roof.

Caroline Proulx, the province's tourism minister, said without a new roof the Olympic Stadium's days are numbered.

"It's not 'if,' it's 'when' there will be one final tear. We're at 20,000 tears right now and if we wait another year or two, it will be the complete closure of the Olympic Stadium," she said.

At this point, the agency, the Société de développement et de mise en valeur du Parc olympique, says the only partner affected is CF Montreal, the professional soccer team that typically plays its home opener in March.

Luc Saumure, a promoter for the Salon du véhicule électrique de Montréal, an electric car show scheduled for April 2024, says their event is in limbo. A meeting with Olympic Stadium officials is planned for this Thursday. Other events like ExpoHabitation (also known as the Home Show) will proceed as planned.

CF Montreal says its 2024 home opener will be played at the adjacent Stade Saputo in April. 

WATCH| Controversial and costly — a history of the Big O:

Is Montreal's Olympic Stadium worth saving?

1 year ago

Duration 3:32

From an ambitious design that took a decade and a half to build, to the saga of the failing roof, Montrealers know the story of the Big O, or the Big Owe, very well. But despite its astronomical and ongoing cost, the story isn't likely to end.

The agency was expected to make a new proposal to the province for a roof this fall, but a spokesperson told CBC that the proposal is now expected in early 2024.

The cost is expected to be substantial, not least because the agency says the stadium's "technical ring" — the massive structure that holds the roof in place — will also have to be replaced.

That cost was not included in a $250-million roof replacement estimate in 2017.

According to an agency news release, the necessary work for this phase will involve removing the synthetic playing surface and mobile stands in order to perform "design, engineering and architectural analyses, surveys, coring, inspections, as well as preventive maintenance of the drainage system of the enclosure."

A towering, unmistakable landmark in Montreal's east end, the Olympic Stadium was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics and has remained in the news long after the last echoes of the closing ceremonies reverberated within its concrete walls. To go along with roof tears and replacements, falling concrete and collapsing walls, its total cost, paid off in 2006, was $1.47 billion.

In October, Quebec Premier François Legault indicated he was in favour of preserving the stadium, saying it was time to turn it into a "positive symbol."