Montreal Fail

During the 1970's, Montreal seemed like it was about to boom.  Instead there were a number of epic failures that occurred that have scarred the city ever since.

First of all, the Olympic stadium, nicknamed "the Big Owe".  It was supposed to have a retractable roof and an inclined tower overlooking it.  It was supposed to cost C$134 million and be finished by 1972.  Instead there was a strike by workers, delays caused by its unusual design, and massive cost overruns.  It cost C$264 million by the time of the 1976 Olympics, where it was used even though it was uncompleted.  The roof wasn't completed until 1987, however, soon after it was opened it ripped. In 1992, it was decided to keep the roof closed at all times.  In 1998, the Kevlar roof was removed and replaced with a blue roof that didn't open at a cost of $26 million.  In 1999, a portion of the new roof collapsed. The new roof was unsafe during heavy rainfall or snowfall (in Canada!) and it "rips 50 to 60 times a year".  The cost for a new roof is an estimated $300 million.

The bizarre looking inclined tower was not fully completed until 1987. During the contruction period, at one point it caught on fire, and chunks of the tower fell on to the playing field.

The cost of the stadium continued to skyrocket, and the total cost came to C$1.6 billion, and it wasn't paid off until 2006.  All paid by the taxpayers of Quebec.  And now it sits empty most of the year.   "With a history of numerous structural and financial problems, it is largely seen as a white elephant."

 Second, and closely related are the Montreal Expos, whose home was the aformentioned Olympic stadium. They were an expansion team, and struggled to build a winning team. Finally, in 1994, they had the best record in Major League Baseball. But then there was a players strike, management sold off the best players, and attendance declined to 11,000 per game (in a 56,000 seat stadium) by 1998.  Part of the problem was the horrible stadium, and there was a proposal to build a new $250 million baseball park.  But it finally relocated to Washington DC where they were renamed the Washington Nationals.

Third, last but not least, is the Montreal-Mirabel Airport. It was a massive airport and opened in 1975 just in time for the 1976 Olympics. It was designed to accommodate 50 million passengers per year; however, it never exceeded 3 million passengers per year.  The existing Dorval airport (now the Montreal-Trudeau airport) could easily handle this traffic. The Mirabel Airport ceased passenger operations in 2004 and converted to cargo operations, but it only handles 64,000 tons of cargo per year (the 6th busiest in Canada).  The empty passenger terminal building was finally demolised in 2014. It is also considered a "white elephant".

Ok, and fourth, a failure on a smaller scale.  The Habitat 67 project, a utopian apartment building.  It was supposed to be built cheaply with prefabricated parts, but the budget spiraled out of control. It has been labeled a "failed dream".

Update: Montreal has the third best subway system in North America, behind only New York City and Mexico City.