Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof.

CF Montréal (formerly known as Montreal Impact) of Major League Soccer (MLS) has used the venue when demand for tickets justifies the large capacity or when the weather restricts outdoor play at nearby Saputo Stadium in the spring months.

[9] A covered stadium was thought to be all but essential for Drapeau's other goal of bringing a Major League Baseball team to Montreal, given the cold weather that can affect the city in April, October and sometimes even September.

The design of the stadium has been likened to that of the Australian Pavilion at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan,[11] although Taillibert had previously explored the concept of an umbrella-style roof for a theatre in Cannes (1964) and Piscine Carnot in Paris (1967).

An Olympic velodrome (since converted to the Montreal Biodome, an indoor nature museum) was situated at the base of the tower in a building similar in design to the swimming pool.

[15] Taillibert based the building on plant and animal forms, aiming to include vertebral structures with sinews or tentacles, while still following the basic plans of Modern architecture.

[19] Despite initial plans to complete payment in October 2006, an indoor smoking ban introduced in May 2006 curtailed the revenue gathered by the tobacco tax.

During this period, however, a large fire set the tower ablaze, causing damage and forcing a scheduled Expos home game to be postponed.

[21][22] In January 1985, approval was given by the Quebec government to complete the project and install a retractable roof, financed by an Olympic cigarette tax in the province.

[25][26] As part of various renovations made in 1991 to improve the stadium's suitability as a baseball venue, 12,000 seats were eliminated, most of them in distant portions of the outfield, and home plate was moved closer to the stands.

In 1999, a 350 m2 (3,770 sq ft) portion of the roof collapsed on January 18, dumping ice and snow on workers that were setting up for the annual Montreal Auto Show.

[31] In February 2010, after a lengthy trial, the Quebec Superior Court awarded a judgement in favour of Danny's Construction and dismissed Birdair's countersuit.

[35] However, the Olympic Installations Board issued a report stating that the roof was unsafe during heavy rainfall or more than 8 centimetres (3.1 in) of snow, and that it rips 50 to 60 times a year.

Events cannot be held if more than 3 centimetres (1.2 in) of snow are predicted 24 hours in advance, such as caused postponement of the Montreal Impact home opener soccer match in March 2014.

[45][46] The Olympic Installations Board has estimated the cost of demolishing the stadium would be between $500 and $700 million,[47] though this figure is based on a preliminary two-month study and thus has a high margin of error.

[48] The high cost of demolition is due to the stadium being built of pre-stressed concrete, which rules out a controlled implosion or wrecking ball, and instead would require carefully removing the rebar wire which is under tension.

[51] The Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes became the stadium's first major post-Olympic tenant when they moved their home games there halfway through the 1976 season.

[53] Olympic Stadium has hosted the Grey Cup a total of six times, most recently in 2008 when the Calgary Stampeders defeated the hometown Alouettes.

The stadium holds the record for nine of the ten largest crowds in CFL history, which include five regular-season and four Grey Cup games.

[9] The Expos played five home playoff games in 1981; two in the NLDS against the Phillies, and three in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series.

Additionally, for most of the Expos' tenure, the padding on the fence was so thin that fielders risked severe injury by going after long fly balls.

However, Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard refused to authorize public funding deemed necessary for a replacement, in part because Olympic Stadium still had not been paid for.

[64] The poor conditions played a role in the Expos nearly being disbanded in the 2001 Major League Baseball contraction plan, which fell through due to court rulings.

Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit the longest home run at Olympic Stadium on May 20, 1978, driving the ball into the second deck in right field for an estimated distance of 535 feet.

[75] On April 4, 1988, the Expos' Opening Day, Darryl Strawberry of the New York Mets hit a ball off a speaker which hangs off a concrete ring at Olympic Stadium, estimated to have travelled 525 feet.

Several games of the 2007 FIFA Under 20 World Cup were played at Olympic Stadium and drew the largest crowds of the tournament, including two sell-outs of 55,800.

The Americans won 2–0 in front of a largely partisan crowd and then went on to win their record third FIFA Women's World Cup trophy the following Sunday in Vancouver.

[88] In winter 1977, Emerson, Lake and Palmer filmed a performance of their arrangement of the Aaron Copland piece "Fanfare For The Common Man" at the stadium.

[92] On June 20, 1980, Roberto Durán defeated Sugar Ray Leonard to win the WBC boxing world's welterweight championship at the Olympic Stadium.

Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Jason Newsted and drummer Lars Ulrich promised a makeup concert to quell the sold-out crowd of 54,666.