Is it time for Montreal to host another Olympic Games?

All eyes were on Montreal 50 years ago for the 1976 Olympics.

With the Winter Games underway in Milano-Cortina, there’s renewed talk in La Belle Province about whether Montreal could one day host the Games again – and whether the city should make a bid.

“I would love to be a city that could actually welcome big events like an Olympic event,” said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada.

Last July, the former president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, said Canada “has all the assets to organize Olympic Games.”

CityNews spoke to Montrealers who were mixed about the idea.

“I would be grateful and delighted,” Brigitte Filipovic said.

“It’s not worth it,” said Norman Sabourin.

Even experts of the Montreal sporting scene did not agree.

“We need to move past forward what happened in the past and try to bring that Olympic and especially sporting spirit to the city,” said sports columnist Jeremy Filosa with 98.5 FM.

“It’s the IOC said, ‘would you please put in a bid sometime before 2050,’ that itself should be a warning sign that something’s not right here,” said sports economist Moshe Lander of Concordia University.

But before Montreal could even think about bidding, the Olympic Stadium itself would need to be ready. Right now, it’s under construction again.

The Quebec government announced it would invest $870 million to replace the roof and modernize the venue in 2024.

“You can put whatever amount of money you want into it,” Lander said. “It’s a 20th century cigar dish with a lid on top.”

“Could we do it today?” said Mayor Martinez Ferrada. “We need to regain our stadium, have a real convention centre that is bigger, have a downtown core that works, not construction sites like this.”

At the time, then-tourism minister Caroline Proulx said the new roof would take about four years to complete and is expected to last 50 years.

CityNews reached out to Quebec’s current tourism minister, Amélie Dionne. Her office says no discussions have taken place so far but adds that while the Games could bring economic benefits, any bid would require broad public support and careful consideration of the costs.

“Can you imagine what security would be required to make the Olympics a go?” Lander asked. “How much of downtown would be cordoned off? How many people that work downtown would say, I’m working from home?”

“The image of Montreal linked to sports, aside from the Montreal Canadiens, is not a very positive one,” said Filosa.

Another option being floated by some is sharing the Games with another city or province, such as potentially splitting venues and costs with Toronto.

“The Montreal-Toronto idea is, well, if you take half the Games and we take half the Games, then the total losses will be spread over two cities, over two provinces, and over five levels of government,” Lander said.