Montreal's Olympic Stadium is getting its new roof soon — Here's when it could finally reopen

If you were expecting to catch a soccer match or a stadium-sized concert at Montreal's Olympic Stadium in 2028, don't get your hopes up.

The Big O (also known as the "Big Owe" due to massive cost overruns) has been closed for some time now while crews replace its roof and technical ring. And while there's real progress happening on the site of one of the biggest construction projects the city has seen in years, the day Montrealers can fill the stands again looks a little further off than expected.

This week, sports journalist Jeremy Filosa toured the construction site and posted a video, photos and a detailed rundown on X of where things stand. Put together with recent updates from the Olympic Park, the picture is clearer than it's been in a while.

The roof is almost ready

The original retractable roof never quite worked as planned, and the fixed roof that replaced it in the late '90s spent the next two decades tearing, leaking and forcing the stadium to close whenever too much snow piled up.

According to Filosa, the new roof should be lifted into place this fall, likely in November or December.

The $870 million project is also holding to its budget. Filosa reported that about $550 million has been spent so far, and that the rest of the work should come in at the planned cost. The Olympic Park said much the same in July, noting that the roof replacement was progressing on schedule and within budget.

Construction on Montreal's Olympic Stadium.Parc Olympique

After the roof goes up, there's still plenty to do. The new glass ring around the stadium is expected to be fully installed by the end of 2027, and the roof work as a whole should be finished in spring 2028.

Then comes the inside

The roof was only ever half the job. In July, the Quebec government authorized the Olympic Park to begin a new phase of modernization for the stadium's interior. As covered by MTL Blog at the time, the intention behind it is to turn the Big O into a venue that can compete with the biggest stadiums in the world.

In its announcement, the Olympic Park laid out three main goals:

• The stands will be redesigned to bring fans closer to the action, whatever the event.
• The concourses and other spaces where visitors grab food or find a washroom will get major upgrades to make them more comfortable and easier to get around.
• The stadium's hospitality areas will be reworked to offer an experience on par with major stadiums elsewhere in the world.

In his video, Filosa said the bulk of the interior work, including new seats and private loges, should happen in 2027. The cost still hasn't been made public, and he noted that parts of the interior project are still being planned.

However, the stadium may not fully reopen to the public until one or two years after the roof work wraps up. That would push big events to 2029 or even 2030.

What it will look like

Filosa also shared a few new details about how the stadium will be set up.

Its main configuration will reportedly be designed for soccer and football. The lower bowl will seat about 32,000 people, rising to 52,000 with the upper level open and 63,000 for concerts with fans on the floor.

A rendered image of the new Olympic Stadium.Parc Olympique

On the 400 level, sliding doors will be able to open or close off the section depending on the size of the crowd. When closed, the doors will double as a video screen.

A rendered image of the new Olympic Stadium.Parc Olympique

Baseball, meanwhile, could be limited to one-off events, like a Savannah Bananas game, the World Baseball Classic or a Blue Jays visit, and organizers could be asked to pay extra to set it up. Filosa shared an example of the kind of field that would fit, which he said could work for a single game but not for an 81-game season.

As a result, Expos fans hoping the renovations could help bring a team back to Montreal probably shouldn't get too excited

Who wants in?

According to the Olympic Park, the stadium is already drawing interest. It says discussions are underway with professional sports teams, and that promoters of major international tours have expressed interest in coming back to Montreal once the stadium reopens.

Filosa reported that talks with CF Montréal are ongoing, while nothing is in the works with the Alouettes for now. He also mentioned that the Olympic Park would love to land an NHL Stadium Series game down the road.

There's more planned around the stadium, too. The Olympic Park says a hotel project is being developed on the site, and its business plan projects the modernization could generate up to $1.5 billion in economic benefits for Quebec over 10 years. It also sees the stadium as a driver of development for the east end of the city.

What about the old roof?

While the stadium itself is still a construction zone, the Olympic Park did unveil something new on its grounds last week.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympic Games, it inaugurated two permanent public artworks in October. Both were chosen by a jury of peers following a call for projects launched last fall by the Olympic Park and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

The first, ÉLANS by Philippe Allard, draws inspiration from the stadium's unusual architecture, particularly the original retractable roof and its system of tensioned cables. The second, OASIS by Pavitra Wickramasinghe, gives those cables a second life. Salvaged from the old roof, they've been turned into sculptures integrated into the park's landscape.

OASIS, de Pavitra WickramasingheParc Olympique

Olympic Park president and CEO Joëlle Brodeur said the materials from the old roof carry "history, memory, and potential."

Véronique Fontaine, president and CEO of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, said the works show what can come from creativity, eco-responsibility and collaboration between sectors.

You can find ÉLANS near Pierre-De Coubertin Avenue.

It's not a soccer match or a concert, but for now, it's the closest thing to a new reason to visit the Big O.