Plans to replace the Big O's roof just got more complicated, and likely more expensive - Action News
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Montreal

Plans to replace the Big O's roof just got more complicated, and likely more expensive

In 2017, the Quebec government approved a $250-million plan to replace the Olympic Stadium's roof. Now, the agency that manages the Olympic Park says it needs to also replace the technical ring that holds the roof together.

Plan now is to replace roof and technical ring that holds it together

Montreal's Olympic Stadium with its iconic leaning mast.
In 2017, the Quebec goverenment approved a plan to replace the failing roof of the Olympic Stadium for about $200 to $250 million. Now the ring that the roof attaches to also needs to be replaced. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Nearly six years after plans to replace the roof of the iconic Olympic Stadium wereannounced, those plans are changing drasticallyand, as a result, the cost of thework isexpected to balloon.

In 2017, the Quebec government under former premier Philippe Couillard approved a $250-million budget for a new roof. It was supposed to be installed by the end of 2022 butthat timeline has since beenpushed back several timesand there's been no real end in sight to the Big O roof saga.

On Wednesday, thingsgot even more complicated.

The provincial agency that manages the Olympic Park announced that it cancelledthe call for tenders for the initial roof replacement job. Instead, it will pursue a deal withthe Groupe Pomerleau-Canam (GPC), a consortium that includes Quebec companies.

That consortium would then be in charge of replacing the roof and the technical ring, which is the immense concrete, oval-shaped structure that holds the roof in place. It has a perimeter of about 470 metres and a diameter that varies between 104 and 175 metres, depending on where you measure it.

In a statement,theSocit de dveloppement et de mise en valeur du Parc olympiquesaid expert analysis showed that replacing the technical ring was necessary in order to conform to the latest federal building code.

It also described this latest change to the project as "radically different" from what was initially approved by the province.

The agency now expects to submit a new proposal, with a new price tag,to the Quebec government this fall.

'This thing is an absolute money trap'

When reached by CBC News, Moshe Lander, a senior lecturer ineconomicsat Concordia University, didn't mince words.

He said it's time to give up on the Big O and demolish it.

"This thing is an absolute money trap," said Lander, who specializes in sports economics. "Any attempt to prolong its life is probably more for politics now than it is for economics."

Lander says it would be better to build a new facility that can house the same activities the Big O is currently being used for, since the maintenance costs in a newer building would be cheaper.

 A man in a suit smiles for a photo in a library.
Bruno Massicotte, professor of civil engineering atPolytechnique Montral, says that each pair of concrete pieces will have to be tailor-made to fix the roof of the Olympic Stadium. (Polytechnique Montral/Facebook)

'It's worth repairing'

Bruno Massicotte, professor of civil engineering atPolytechnique Montral, acknowledges that rebuilding the roof of the Olympic Stadiumis a "major undertaking" but believes that the efforts are worth it.

Massicotte explained thatbecause there's only one axis of symmetry on the Big O, each piece of concrete has only one twin. Therefore, each pair of pieces is unique and has to be tailor-made, driving up costs. But he believes the repairs are still justified.

"It's worth repairing unless we can see damages or signs of misfunction," he said."Tourists come to see it ... as people go to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris or other icon[ic] structures."

Dinu Bumbaru, a policy director at Heritage Montreal, agrees.

"It's one of the few buildings or sites in Montreal that has acquired an international reputation. So we're doing it for ourselves, we're doing it for the country but also we're doing it as part of an international movement," Bumbaru said.

A person is smiling.
Dinu Bumbaru, the policy director for Heritage Montreal, says the Olympic Stadium is worth preserving but constantly delaying the roof repairs is not ideal. (Kwabena Oduro/CBC)

Massicottebelieves it's important to keep the stadium safe and operational well into the future.

"It's very important to keep that structure for future generations and [that] it's used, not just as a monument," he said.

Bumbaru, however, does acknowledge thatconstant delays to the repair work will lead to higher costs that "amplify the political debate."

"It's like a vicious circle that they're fuelling all the time," Bumbaru said.

With files from Kwabena Oduro and Radio-Canada