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Olympic Stadium

stadium built for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal

Key facts

Address: 4545 Pierre-de-Coubertin Avenue
Location: Montreal , Quebec , Canada
Owner: Régie des Installations Olympiques (Government of Quebec)
Capacity: Permanent capacity: 56,040 (1992–present) , 1976 Summer Olympics: 73,000 (1976–1992) , Baseball : 49,757 (1992–present) , Soccer : 61,004 , Football : 66,308
Roof: Dome
Surface: Grass (1976 and June 2, 2010), AstroTurf (1977–2001, 2005–06), Defargo Astrograss (2002–03), FieldTurf (2003–2005), Team Pro EF RD (2007–2014), Xtreme Turf by Act Global (2014–2022), FIFA Quality Pro (2023–)
Record attendance: 78,322 ( Pink Floyd , July 6, 1977)
Public transit: Pie-IX , Viau
Groundbreaking: April 28, 1973
Opened: July 17, 1976 , April 15, 1977 (baseball)
Construction cost: C$ 770 million , C$ 5.2 billion ( 2017 – including additional costs, interest and repairs for the entire Olympic Park )
Architect: Roger Taillibert

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

Olympic Stadium (French: Stade olympique, pronounced [stad ɔlɛ̃pik]) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof. It is also disparagingly referred to as "The Big Owe" in reference to the high cost of its construction and of hosting the 1976 Olympics as a whole.

The stadium is one of the largest by seating capacity in Canada. After the Olympics, artificial turf was installed and it became the home of Montreal's professional baseball and football teams. The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL returned to their previous home of Molson Stadium in 1998 for regular season games, but continued to use Olympic Stadium for playoff and Grey Cup games until 2012. Following the 2004 baseball season, the Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., to become the Washington Nationals. The stadium currently serves as a multi-purpose facility for special events (e.g. concerts, trade shows) with a permanent seating capacity of 56,040. The capacity is expandable with temporary seating. CF Montréal (formerly known as Montreal Impact) of Major League Soccer (MLS) has used the venue when demand for tickets justifies the large capacity or when the weather restricts outdoor play at nearby Saputo Stadium in the spring months.