The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CCF) is calling on the Quebec government to be transparent about the cost of the new roof for the Montreal Olympic Stadium.
• Also read: Fix the acoustics, renew the toilets and seats… after the new roof, it's still a fortune to invest in the Olympic Stadium
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“If the government wants to convince taxpayers that spending $870 million of their money on an empty stadium will double the economic benefits and triple the stadium’s revenue, it can at least show them the numbers,” said Nicolas Gagnon, director of the FCC Stadium in Quebec, in a news release Monday.
The FCC believes that this expense is “unjustifiable in the current economic environment” and that if the government cannot provide numbers, “taxpayers simply should not foot the bill.”
Recall that on February 5, Quebec announced that it would proceed with the renewal of the roof of the Montreal Olympic Stadium. The work is expected to cost $870 million.
According to Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx, these costs could increase the stadium's annual economic benefit from $68 million to almost $150 million.
The FCC also disputes the government's reported $2 billion cost of demolishing the stadium. “Many stadiums in North America, such as the Robert Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington DC or Yankee Stadium in New York, were demolished for less than $25 million.”
“An independent assessment would provide real transparency to taxpayers and allow the government to think twice before wasting taxpayer money,” Mr Gagnon said.