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New Olympic Stadium Roof Planned Ahead of 2026 World Cup

Montreal Olympic Stadium soccer

Officials are pushing to install a new roof over Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, with a goal to complete the project ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

With Canada, the United States, and Mexico serving as joint hosts of the 2026 World Cup, Montreal’s Olympic Stadium is expected to be among the venues that will stage matches. Despite its aging condition, the facility remains operational–it hosts occasional matches for MLS’s Montreal Impact, among other events–and Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government officials believe that a new roof is a key part of making the facility viable in the future.

The prospect of a new roof has been mentioned previously, and was brought up recently by Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx. Although some specifics about the new roof remain unknown, the goal is to have it in place by 2024, leaving time to spare before the 2026 World Cup. More from the Montreal Gazette:

The objective is the same: to have the old roof replaced by 2024, in time for the World Cup of 2026. The CAQ government has one key advantage over the others who made such promises: it is swimming in surplus funds.

“We will be working on replacing the roof, it is mandatory to change the roof,” Proulx said. “We will change the roof. The business plan will be tabled in the next few months.”

Proulx would not respond to questions about costs or whether the new roof would be retractable. The Couillard government had pegged the cost of the roof at somewhere between $200 million and $300 million.

Olympic Stadium originally opened for the 1976 Summer Olympics, and hosted baseball’s Montreal Expos from 1977-2004, before the franchise the relocated to Washington. It is part of Montreal’s Olympic Park, which also includes Saputo Stadium, the Impact’s primary home.

Image courtesy Montreal Impact.

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