MONTREAL - The Olympic Installations Board is looking to transform the concrete plaza created for the 1976 summer games into a family-friendly location.
Right now the iconic stadium is surrounded by hectares of concrete that are used only by pedestrians walking to the Biodome or other attractions, and by skateboarders and Parkour athletes, who take advantage of the sparse, urban landscape to jump and hang on oddly-shaped surfaces.
Now the OIB, led by David Heurtel, wants to create a place that will be inviting to all, attractive enough to convince people to stick around after several hours of watching penguins and monkeys.
"We want to be able to give life to this 180,000 square-foot (55,000 square-metre) esplanade that really right now isn't being used regularly or if at all," said Heutel.
"The way you do that is by having things for (people) to do and right now we're stuck in a situation where people come for one specific thing."
The OIB already has a major investor lined up, and is ready to rename the plaza the Sun Life Financial Esplanade.
However when it comes to specifics, everything is still up in the air.
The revamped space may become home to family activities, fairs, and carnivals, but the exact details are not known.
Heurtel said he would also like to see the tower and the stadium itself be revamped, including getting new corporate names, but that can only take place once the long-term future of the structure is decided.
Meanwhile the public consultations into that continue.
Lise Bissonnette, chair of the advisory committee on the future of the site, has said any and all ideas will be considered except demolishing the structure.
