The renovated stadium could be a venue for the soccer team.
So what is going on in Montréal with the Major League Soccer franchise in the city? It appears that the CP Montréal franchise could end up playing in the city’s old Olympic stadium which is again being renovated. MLS Commissioner Don Garber has toured the stadium during the facelift procedure and called the venue “remarkable”. But that doesn’t mean Garber is going to recommend to his owners that CP Montréal’s franchise owners should move into the building when the renovations are completed. Major League Soccer is moving its schedule starting in 2027 into a summer-fall-winter-early spring schedule and Montréal in the winter is not exactly appealing for an outdoor sport. Moving into a domed stadium would solve the problem of playing outdoors although the league would take a break from December through February.
“My understanding is that the stadium reached out to the club and said ‘be a part of our dream, be a part of our vision. Be our primary tenant,’” Garber said. “‘We’re going to put up a new roof.’ And I saw it there. And if you haven’t been there that was one of the coolest stadium visits I’ve ever had.” But sports venue decisions are about money and if the CP Montréal ownership moves from its present 18-year-old stadium into the Olympic stadium it would be all about money. Garber said the CP Montréal ownership group wants to “have a best-in-class facility to be able to drive revenue.” The 50-year-old Olympic Stadium still has an issue with its roof, a retractable roof that seemingly has never worked. The new roof renovations include the dismantling of the existing roof, replacing the technical ring that holds the entire stadium structure together and building a new roof. The renovation of the building will not get Major League Baseball to return to the Montréal venue but it might get a soccer team.
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