Opened in 2008 as a 13,034 seat venue, Stade Saputo in Montreal is currently undergoing expansion to 20,341 seats as Impact de Montréal (Montreal Impact) prepare to enter Major League Soccer in 2012.
Below is an excellent video explaining the stadium’s history and future plans. It mentions the structure’s origins as part of the 1976 Olympic Park, with some of the original concrete integrated in the 2008 built soccer stadium and the need to preserve a historic sightline of the Olympic Stadium.
The stadium’s 2008 build was funded partly by the Saputo family, owners of the Impact, who donated $7.5 million to the $17 million total cost (those are Canadian dollars, folks). That construction left the stadium looking like this:
Photo by abdallahh on Flickr
A further $23 million, provided by Quebec’s government, is now being spent to transform Stade Saputo into venue fitting for today’s MLS, as the Impact take the jump from lower league to North America’s first division. This work includes installing 3,500 seats in a new west grandstand, 1,000 additional seats in the east grandstand and 1,250 in the southeast and southwest corners, while new roofing will cover much of the stadium. The number of suites will also jump from 16 to 40. The stadium will continue to have a natural grass surface.
The new Saputo Stadium was designed by Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes. Below are their renderings of the finished home for the Impact:
Here are the latest construction photos from the Impact’s Facebook page:
Construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 2012; the Impact will begin MLS play nearby at “the Big O” (Montreal Olympic Stadium) in the spring before moving back into their enhanced soccer specific stadium.
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