Washington Nationals Tickets

THE SECOND MOST frequently asked question of someone who has seen all of the Major League Baseball stadiums is "Which is the worst ballpark?" Though the answer is subjective, a very strong case can be made for Olympic Stadium, or Stade Olympique, which has been a disaster from the outset.

The Big 0, built to host the 1976 Olympics, is located in a pleasant area outside downtown Montreal amid a large park and science exposition, easily reachable via the underground Metro. Not much else can be said for it.

The construction cost ran hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, a large portion of which was wasted on a stunningly tall tower erected to control the (supposedly) retractable roof. It worked intermittently before being dismantled in 1997. A new roof was installed to replace the hideous orange canopy, by far the worst of any of the domed stadiums. Like their counterparts in Minnesota, Montreal fans spend a great deal of time indoors dur¬ing the Canadian winters. They are not likely to waste precious warm summer days and nights sitting in a dark, dingy arena watching a sport that will never be more popular here than hockey.

The few fans that do show up are loud, enthusiastic, and supportive. Unfortu¬nately, they have never been rewarded with a championship. The Expos haven't won a pennant since their inception in 1969. With its small-market revenues and resulting minuscule payroll, the odds for postseason play in Montreal are usually long. Polls are alleged to have indicated that there is enough fan inter¬est to support a Major League Baseball club here in Quebec's largest city. New Expos ownership is attempting to arrange financing for a baseball-only stadium in downtown Montreal-another struggling franchise looking for a new-ballpark quick fix.

ANDRES GALARRAGA "I'm kind of scared my first time I see a big-league stadium ... First one was in Montreal. Olympic Stadium. And I mean, beautiful, exciting, to see the up and down, the cover, and all that stuff."

JERRY MANUEL "Montreal was a nice fun sta¬dium for me because we won ball games there. And at that time it was a packed place. There was a lot of cement around that ballpark, but I enjoyed it. Back in '80, '81, there was a great feeling in that ballpark."

TOM SEAVER "Olympic Stadium was one of the worst stadiums I ever played in, from a fan's stand-point and from the feeling a player has on the field. The service of the field was far less than adequate-it was so bumpy and there were ridges in the outfield. Players sometimes got hurt."

MIKE HAMPTON "It's the worst ballpark I've ever played in my entire life. It's a horrible place to play-you feel like you're playing in a garage. The fans don't come out to watch the game."