Olympic Stadium rises over Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district as one of the most distinctive sports venues in North America. Built for the 1976 Summer Olympics and opened on July 17 of that year, the stadium was designed by French architect Roger Taillibert in a swooping, organic-modern style unlike any other arena of its era.
It later became the home of Major League Baseball’s Montreal Expos, who played their first game there on April 15, 1977, and hosted the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes for years afterward. Locals nicknamed it “The Big O,” a play on its shape and on “The Big Owe,” a nod to the massive cost overruns that took the city three decades to pay off.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): Montreal Expos (MLB, 1977-2004), Montreal Alouettes (CFL)
- Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Opened: July 17, 1976
- Capacity: About 56,000 permanent (up to 66,308 configured for football)
- Notable Fact: Its 165 m (541 ft) leaning tower is the tallest inclined structure in the world
A Landmark Built for the Games
Olympic Stadium was the centerpiece of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, its saucer-shaped bowl and dramatic leaning tower instantly marking Montreal’s skyline. The tower, known as the Montreal Tower, was intended to support a retractable Kevlar roof suspended by cables, an ambitious engineering feat for the time.
That retractable roof never worked reliably. It was finally removed in 1998 and replaced with a fixed roof, and as of the mid-2020s the stadium has been undergoing another major roof replacement project running into 2027-2028.
From Baseball Home to Multi-Use Venue
For nearly three decades, Olympic Stadium was baseball country, hosting the Montreal Expos from 1977 until the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C. in 2004. The Alouettes also called it home for much of the CFL era, and the Montreal Manic and Montreal Machine each used it during shorter pro football and soccer stints.
Today the stadium hosts concerts, trade shows, occasional CF Montréal soccer matches, and other large public events, remaining one of Montreal’s most-visited landmarks even without a full-time sports tenant.
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Olympic Stadium FAQs
Is Olympic Stadium still standing?
Yes. It remains an active multi-purpose venue in Montreal, though it has been undergoing a major roof replacement project since 2024.
Why is it called “The Big Owe”?
The nickname refers to the stadium’s enormous cost overruns; the original 1976 Olympics budget of about C$134 million ballooned into a debt that took Montreal roughly 30 years to pay off.
What teams used to play at Olympic Stadium?
The Montreal Expos of Major League Baseball played there from 1977 to 2004, and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes were long-time tenants as well.
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Photo: Harrystyle / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.