The government of François Legault has therefore decided to renovate our Olympic Stadium and to invest “another” significant sum, namely $870 million. At least!
This further massive investment in the Olympic Stadium is rightly causing resentment among a large part of the population.
How much will the bill for the Olympic Park, i.e. the stadium, its roof, its tower, its swimming pools and other facilities, be after the stadium is renovated in 2028? I take my calculator and add the following amounts:
– From 1976 to March 2018: $3.52 billion
– From April 2018 to March 2024: $340 million in renovations
– Work related to the new roof: $870 million
Drumroll: The bill will reach $4.73 billion. With the usual minor construction accidents and borrowing costs, the bill for the Olympic Park at the end of the new stadium roof work is expected to be $5 billion.
- Listen to the economy part with Michel Girard above QUB :
DO WE HAVE A CHOICE?
If we have collectively shouted and shouted from the rooftops that there is no point in spending so many billions on the insanity of the Olympic Park and its cursed stadium, then what do we do?
There were three solutions on the table.
– Firstly, we are destroying the stadium, but it will cost us $2 billion because it requires very risky work. This is still a billion dollars more than the cost of the new works agreed by the Legault government.
– Secondly, we leave the stadium in its current condition, but if we do that, the stadium will fall into disrepair and no longer be functional in about ten years.
– Thirdly, we are investing another billion in recladding the stadium and modernizing it to breathe new life into it from its 52nd birthday in 2028.
Do not criticize me, but I choose the “least worst” solution, namely the one proposed by Michel Labrecque, the current President and CEO of the Olympic Park, and Caroline Proulx, the Minister of Tourism and Minister in charge of the Olympic Park.
- Listen to the economy part with Michel Girard above QUB :
Given the astronomical amount of money (4 billion) that successive governments have already invested in the Olympic Park and its controversial stadium since 1976, investing in the restoration and redesign of the stadium seems to me to be the “least worst” solution.
It was former mayor Jean Drapeau who chose French architect Roger Taillibert to design our colossal Olympic stadium with a retractable, but unfortunately too fragile, roof.
Once we get a new, securely attached roof, we can boast of having the most expensive iconic stadium in the world right here in Quebec!
Will it be enough to attract the biggest stars and biggest events? I hope so.