Some may call me weird...

[LetsGoBucs]

...But I love olympic stadium.

I know it was nothing but a burden on the town of Montreal. I know that it costed over $1 billion and caused many problems...But I just think that it is one of the most unique domes ever built. From the tower to the space-ship like exterior, I just love the place.

I went up for a game in 2002 and enjoyed myself...Yes there are many other ballparks at which I would rather see a game...but, I found it to be a unique experience and really had a good time.

[Chisox73]

I'm sure that there's many more people like you that share the same sentiments about the Big O.

It definately was unlike any other stadium ever built.BTW,did you ever get to go up that tower? I'm glad you had a great time there.

Here's a pic of Olympic Stadium;

[LetsGoBucs]

Nope, didn't make the trip up the tower..however I kind of wish that I would have now that talks of demolishing the stadium are circulating..

[tonypug]

Olympic Stadium was a fun place to watch a ball game. I used to spend a week in Montreal every summer And an Expos game was part of every trip until I moved to Florida is 1987. First Jarry Park and then Olympic Stadium, I always found the atmosphere in the park and outside the park very vibrant and exciting. They had some very exciting teams and it was a fun time. The bi-lingual vendors, the very friendly fans made for a good time. Had the fans been treated properly and fairly, there would still be a thriving team there getting ready to move into a new Stadium.

[Paulmcall]

I thought the place was ok to see a game in. Too bad it wasn't closer to downtown proper. They had a good thing going there at one time.
Another franchise wrecked by stupid management and major league baseball.

[Augustin_"Gus"]

I think that Olympic stadium was a good place to see baseball when it wasnt your home park. Going there, while traveling in the city must have been nice. It truly is like no other stadium, probably in the world. But when the novelty/uniqueness wore off, there wasnt much left. Believe me, after a few dozens of games, you didint care much about the futuristic design. You just wich your team would play in a different (and better) stadium.

BTW LGB, dont worry, you still have plenty of time to go into the tower. Studies produced for the governement told us recenly that it would cost something like 500 million $ to demolish the Big O. So you can bet this baby isint going anywhere.

[Gary Dunaier]

I was amazed when I saw the pictures on the Digital Ballparks website showing that the area behind the outfield wall was just empty floor space...



...and that the scoreboard in center wasn't a freestanding object, but was actually part of the back wall!

I guess I don't know what, if anything, I did expect... I didn't really think about it beforehand, to tell you the truth...

[runningshoes]

I saw the Expos play the Cubs and the Dodgers there.

I didn't enjoy being there.

It just didnt feel right.

[curb my enthusiasm]

I saw a game there back in either '92 or '93. The Expos had a really good team, and they played the Cardinals. There was a pretty good crowd there, at least 20,000. I believe that the Expos won 4-3 in extra innings.

Here's the box score of that game. The Expos finished 94-68 in 1993, only three games behind the Phillies.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...99308130.shtml

[sflnyc]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

I was amazed when I saw the pictures on the Digital Ballparks website showing that the area behind the outfield wall was just empty floor space...



...and that the scoreboard in center wasn't a freestanding object, but was actually part of the back wall!

I guess I don't know what, if anything, I did expect... I didn't really think about it beforehand, to tell you the truth...

Don't forget that the stadium was the main centerpiece for the 1976 Olympic Games and that dead space beyond the outfield was where the running track was. I'm sure I have pictures buried somewhere that I can scan. My favorite part of the Big O was the early years when the running track was still in place and was used as the baseball warning track behind home plate, and you would see the lane lines.


It's sort of like how there is all that extra space at the LA Coliseum beyond the east? endzone line of the football field where the scoreboard arches are. When the Raiders played there in the 1980's, I wondered while watching on TV how anybody sitting in the front row out by the scoreboard arches could actually see anything of relevance from their seat of the football game. The same applies to all those photos of the 1959 World Series. That area is really a dead space now with the bleachers erected at that endzone. In their last years at the Coliseum, the Rams used temporary bleachers there too.

I'm sure there are some other stadiums that had dead space beyond the outfield wall (Cleveland Municipal and Exhibition Stadium) come to mind.

[sflnyc]

Thanks to Andrew Clem and Clem's Baseball for these
http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/OlympicStadium.html

The first diagram is from the 1976 Olympics.
The second diagram is from the initial baseball set-up in 1977 with the running track still in place behind home plate.
The third diagram is from 1992 when they tried to make the stadium more "baseball intimate" by bring the first & third stands closer to the diamond in addition to placing outfield seats by the home run wall rather than beyond it (as in the picture that Gary Dunaier provided).

[PeteU]

Originally Posted by sflnyc

I'm sure there are some other stadiums that had dead space beyond the outfield wall (Cleveland Municipal and Exhibition Stadium) come to mind.

Memorial Stadium, after they brought in the fences in 1958, had a lot of dead space in center field where the left field and right field bleachers carried on. They used it to put the bullpens, a picnic section, and end zone bleachers for Colts games.

Of course, when the stadium first opened in 1954 all that space was in play, very few homeruns were hit that year.

[PeteU]

Originally Posted by LetsGoBucs

...But I love olympic stadium.

I know it was nothing but a burden on the town of Montreal. I know that it costed over $1 billion and caused many problems...But I just think that it is one of the most unique domes ever built. From the tower to the space-ship like exterior, I just love the place.

I went up for a game in 2002 and enjoyed myself...Yes there are many other ballparks at which I would rather see a game...but, I found it to be a unique experience and really had a good time.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a question on this board as to why Olympic Stadium seemed to be so universally reviled as "the worst ballpark in baseball"? I don't know if it was because the crowds were always so sparse or because it was such a wierd looking, non-traditional place for a ballgame. Or perhaps there were more tangible reasons as to why the dislike for the place.

Personally, I was never there but I don't think it was all that bad. To me, it sure beat Riverfront Stadium and Three Rivers Stadium which were just boring. At least Olympic Stadium seemed interesting, albiet in a strange, unconventional way. No one ever confused it for another ballpark, that's for sure.

[Gary Dunaier]

I never had the privilege of attending a game in Montreal, but the fact that it was in another country, as well as its bilingualism, made Expos home games seem exotic to me. So that's why I've got a soft spot in my heart for the "Big O" (and let's not forget Jarry Park, although that's not a part of this thread).

[sflnyc]

I never had a problem with Olympic Stadium and of all the "cookie cutter" generation stadiums, I liked it lot because of the then unkown concept of a rectractable roof. Even though the roof took decades, having the tower dominating the stadium was awesome. Plus outside it looked like a flying saucer. Because the Expos fortunes turned for the better once they moved there in 1977 and became on of baseball's better teams both on the field and at the box office, nobody disliked it. But with cheap tighwad ownership problems, etc. the last 20 years of the place was horrible with bad teams and thus bad attendance, thus leading to the mausoleum feel and the constant barbs at it.

The other cookie cutter that they really set up well was Busch II, but the Cardinals always drew well. If you notice, most of the cookie cutters (Seattle, Pittsburgh, etc.) that are derided are the ones that were always empty and thus added to the bad image.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by sflnyc

Because the Expos fortunes turned for the better once they moved there in 1977 and became on of baseball's better teams both on the field and at the box office, nobody disliked it.

That's a good point. If the Expos had become perennial contenders the way the Mets are, or at least the way they're supposed to be , I'm sure Olympic Stadium would get a lot more respect.

Originally Posted by sflnyc

The other cookie cutter that they really set up well was Busch II, but the Cardinals always drew well.

It doesn't hurt matters any that the Cardinals worked to make Busch II as baseball-centric as possible in its final years.

Originally Posted by sflnyc

If you notice, most of the cookie cutters (Seattle, Pittsburgh, etc.) that are derided are the ones that were always empty and thus added to the bad image.

Another excellent point.

Although I suppose some of the fans who just like to go to the ballpark for a nice afternoon or evening out, and don't really care who wins, might not have minded the smaller turnouts; that way they get plenty of room to stretch out. It's like the old joke:

FAN ON THE PHONE: What time does the game start?

TEAM REP: What time can you get here?

[Gary Dunaier]

Getting back to Montreal's Olympic Stadium...

Here's a photo I found on Flickr. According to the notes accompanying it, the photo was taken July 31st of this year, so it's a current view.



Interesting to note that the seats directly behind home plate are still there, but the seats above the dugouts have been removed.

[Gary Dunaier]

I'm going to guess - and this is just a guess - that the "bite" has always been there. Perhaps it originally served as some kind of work area for TV crews and such, but in later years I remember from seeing games on the television that the area had mellow lighting and framed photographs on the walls, so perhaps it was converted into a club box or something like that.

[PeteU]

I believe it could be swiveled movable seats, like the ones featured in the cookie cutters like Three Rivers or Busch II. They would be moving the seats forward make the field wider for football and soccer.

[l3igrol3]

quoting from Clem's Baseball:

"In addition, (in 1992) a big chunk was carved out of the grandstand in back of home plate and along the foul lines in each corner, so that the diamond and the outfield fences could be moved back by about forty feet. This was done to bring fans closer to the action, but fans right in back of home plate sat 15 feet above the field, like at the Metrodome."

[sflnyc]

More photos of Olympic Stadium.

First photo is from 4.20.87 against the Phillies on Opening Day (50,482 attendance). Running track behind home plate is still evident.

Second photo is from the 1990's before the retractable roof malfunctioned and was permanently closed. If you look closely, you can see the guy wires that the tarp roof utilized to come down on.

Third photo is from the Closing Ceremonies of the 1976 Olympics. Not baseball of course, but it gives a perspective of the stadium from roughly the same viewpoint of the 1990's picture.

A fascinating technologicial marvel that was before its time (and of course, way over budget). I remember watching games on TV from there in the 1980's wondering, when will the ever finish that tower. I thought then that the tower was just part of the architecture, not the base from where the roof would unfurl.

[Seattle1]

Originally Posted by LetsGoBucs

...But I love olympic stadium.

You're weird!



...just kidding. Thought someonw had to say it since itwas in your thread title, lol.

[Gary Dunaier]

Here's a photo I found on Flickr.com showing a monster truck rally taking place at Olympic Stadium. The photo was posted by "andrea susann" and was taken on Sat 11-03-07, so it's just a little more than a week old.

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

I think that The O would have gotten much better reviews from everyone if the roof had been operational for the length of the stadium's existence. It looks like a pretty good place to watch a game on a sunny afternoon.

[sturg1dj]

i always wanted to go there since it looked so much different than other stadiums and I never understood why people hated it.


if the roof would have worked and if grass could have been put in it could have been a gem...but oh well

its still better than the Metrodome and Tropicana Field