Collection

The huge city block where the Olympic Stadium is located was chosen in 1930 by Montreal Mayor Camilien Houde as the future site of the Empire Games. But the beginning of the Second World War put an end to the project even before it got started.

On December 4, 1969, just a few months after the last game of the Montreal Expos' inaugural season at Jarry Stadium, Mayor Jean Drapeau proposed Montreal as the host city for the 1976 Olympic Games. On May 12, 1970, the International Olympic Committee announced that Montreal had been chosen to host the Games. The well-known city block suddenly had a new lease on life.

On February 3, 1973, the Olympic Games Organizing Committee established the critical path for the construction of the ambitious sports complex. Work finally began on April 28. Months went by and progress was gradually made with the construction, but in May 1975, the workers' union launched a general strike that lasted until October 26. By then, the project was several months behind schedule.

On November 20, 1975, the Quebec National Assembly passed Bill 81, which provided for the establishment of the Régie des installations olympiques, a board assigned the task of overseeing completion of the Olympic Stadium construction project by May 15, 1976. As a result of the delays caused by the strike, a number of temporary facilities had to be erected.

The opening ceremonies of the XXIst Olympiad finally had to be held in an unfinished stadium. The Olympic Park was officially opened when the facilities were still far from being completed. Montrealers nevertheless wanted the complex to be used subsequently for other purposes in order to get a return on their investment.