Green cathedrals II - Sports Scene - memories of sports stadiums in US and Canada - Busch Memorial Stadium, Veteran's Stadium, RFK Stadium, and Olympic Stadium

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2003 by Wayne M. Barrett

Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada: I'm taking poetic license to include this monstrosity in a ballpark column since I never actually saw a baseball game here. However, considering the Expos are essentially bankrupt and have been operated (and funded) by Major League Baseball the last two seasons, the chance to opine about this financial failure may not come again. I've made two trips to the Big O. My first, in August, 1977, occurred with the Expos out of town, so I ventured forth to see a Montreal Alouettes Canadian Football League game instead. I recall being startled by the looming image of the stadium in the gathering dusk. If a gigantic flying saucer from outer space ever were to land on Earth, this is what it would look like. Once inside, I was sure to note the painted stripes--serving as extended foul poles--all the way to the top of the stadium down the left and right field lines. They were placed there after New York Mets slugger Dave Kingman hit his famous "foul" home run--a spot way out in left where the blast bounced off file concrete facing in Fair territory, but was ruled foul by the umpires.

My second encounter with Olympic Stadium, 12 years later, was a strange experience I shared with my then-girlfriend (now wife) as she accompanied me north of the border when I was covering the 1989 Stanley Cup finals. An off-day from hockey found us sightseeing at, among other places, the Olympic Village, the construction of which had nearly bankrupted the city 13 years earlier. It was one of the weirdest, eeriest sensations of my life. Although a beautiful, warm, sun-filled spring day, the area was a ghost town. We walked all around the former Olympic site totally alone. We looked at each other. Is it possible we're the only ones here,? we wondered. In retrospect, now I know how the Expos feel. No wonder they're broke.

Wayne M. Barrett is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of USA Today.