Olympic Stadium

From SoSH

Olympic Stadium

Location:	Montréal, Québec
Opened:	July 17, 1976
Owner:	Régie des Installations Olympiques
Surface:	Grass (1976) / Artifical Turf (1977-Present)
Architect:	Roger Taillibert
Current Capacity:	43,739 (baseball)
Build Cost:	CAN$770,000,000
Tenants:	1976 Summer Olympics Montreal Expos (NL) (1977-2004) Montreal Alouettes (CFL) (1976-1997) Montreal Manic (NASL) (1981-1983) Montreal Machine (WLAF) (1991-1992)

1 Stadium History
2 Trivia
3 Field Dimensions
4 Wall Height
5 External Links

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Stadium History

Olympic Stadium opened in 1976 as the main venue for that year's Summer Olympics before it was converted into the home of Montreal's baseball and football teams. Roger Taillibert, the French architect of the stadium, intended for it to feature a retractable roof that could be opened and closed by means by means of a huge tower. The stadium was not completed in time for the Olympics due to a strike by the construction workers, so the half-finished stadium -- featuring neither its tower nor its roof -- hosted Olympic events. Due to labor issues, costs, and numerous other problems, the tower and roof were not finished for over a decade.

The stadium, already a poor place to play baseball, suffered numerous problems due to poor design. Part of the tower fell onto the playing field during a game in 1986, and the roof (added in 1987), constructed of kevlar, was plagued by rips and tears, allowing rain into the stadium during games. In September 1991, fifty-five tons of concrete fell onto an exterior walkway when the support beams under it snapped. No one was injured, but while construction was occurring, the Expos had to play their final 13 home games on the road. Due to safety concerns, the kevlar roof would remain closed from the 1992 season onward, and was replaced by an opaque blue roof late in the 1998 season.

Despite its problems, Olympic Stadium routinely drew plenty of fans to Expos games, from a record 59,057 fans for the 1982 All-Star Game to 31,985 fans for the Expos' final game in Montreal. The Expos also hosted five playoff games in 1981 at Olympic Stadium: two against the Philadelphia Phillies to decide the season's winner of the National League East (the season had been split into two halves by that year's strike; the Phillies had the best first-half record in the East and the Expos had the best second-half record) and three against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League Championship Series. The Expos would never again appear in the postseason, though they might have if the 1994 season had been completed.

When the Expos left Montreal for Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, they left Olympic Stadium without any major tenants, though the Grey Cup takes place there, along with the Montreal Alouettes' playoff games.

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Trivia

Site of the 1982 All-Star Game.
The stadium's tower is 583 feet, 4 inches tall, making it the world's tallest inclined structure and the sixth-tallest building in Montreal.

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