It's back to the drawing board for the roof of Montreal's Olympic Stadium, known as The Big O.
Engineers discovered that there will have to be major changes to the structure before a new roof can be installed, which will involve replacing a massive 450-metre concrete ring along the roofline of the stadium.
The Olympic Park Development and Upkeep Society (SDMVPO) cancelled the current call for proposals and issued a notice of intent to enter into an agreement with construction company Groupe Pomerleau-Canam to find a solution and "refine the budget estimate" to replace the ring.
It is expected to be extremely expensive.
"It [the ring] is a key component of the structure of the stadium," said Heritage Montreal policy director Dinu Bumbaru.
The Park and Pomerleau hope to have the business case ironed out in the fall.
"This decision is deemed necessary and takes into account the current context of the project, which is radically different from what it was when the opportunity file was approved nearly six years ago," the SDMVPO said in a news release.
The stadium was designed by Roger Taillibert and built for the 1976 Olympics, but the roof was only completed in 1987. It had a hole in it within a year, and a second roof was completed in 1998. It also ripped within a year.
According to the latest annual report in 2022, there have been just over 17,000 tears in the roof since October 2007.
It also cost $808,000 to maintain and heat in 2022.
In 2017, the Quebec government announced a third roof was set to be built and completed this year.
The SDMVPO said the current roof has reached the end of its useful life and that by replacing the ring and roof together, the hope is that by repairing the roof and ring together, the Olympic Park can operate the stadium year-round.
The SDMVPO said that 45 years after it was first built, the park has an "undeniable heritage value."
It is something that Bumbaru agrees with, despite many calling for it to be torn down.
"I know some people would like to pull it down, but, gradually, over the last generations, there has been a wave of fascination and interest for the stadium. It's one of the great monuments of Montreal," he said. "It's a weird structure, unusual and a very challenging one."
Those in charge of the Olympic Stadium refused a request for comment from CTV News and would not provide a timeline for when a third Big O roof will be up.
The Olympic Park includes the Montreal Tower, Sports Centre, Esplanade and the underground parking garage in addition to the Big O.
