Description: Olympic Stadium is a surprisingly nice place to see a ballgame, but with attendance figures so low, the team probably won't be in Montreal much longer. But, in an example of pretzel logic, it's the low attendance that makes the park such a great place to see a game. The park itself is a much-scorned 1970 vintage cookie cutter-enclosed, multi-use, Astro-turfed stadium, but you can get seats awfully close to the field!
I've been to major league games in seven different cities this year. In most cases, I lined up the tickets months in advance and wound up with seats ranging from pretty good to crummy. In Montreal, you can walk up to the ticket booth close to game time and sit almost wherever you want at a reasonable price.
The best seats in the park are the VIP seats (C$36). Ask if any VIP seats are available, and the likely response will be "Do you want first base, third base, or behind home plate?" In most parks, these seats are unavailable, sold to season ticket holders, but you can get them in Montreal! We walked up less than an hour before game time and sat behind the visitor's dugout, four rows up from the field! In Boston's Fenway Park, these seats cost US$55 and you can't get them without knowing someone or overpaying a ticket scalper.
Other seats are available from C$6 to C$26, and this year (2001), there are discounts every game. Depending on the day of the week, it's student day, ladies day, seniors day, or something else, with 50% off for members of the chosen group (no discounts apply to the VIP seats). Standing in the ticket line, I overheard someone say, "Wow! Do these people know how cheap these seats are?" The best way to do it is to buy the cheapest seats available, then move down closer to the action.
The toughest thing is finding the ticket windows. With attendance so low, not all the windows are open and there isn't an obvious crowd to follow. In fact, we wondered if we had misread the date of the game or if it had been cancelled for some reason when we went. The only windows that take credit cards are on ground level at the main entrance, inexplicably hidden beneath ramps and walkways, looking much like a service entrance.
Don't pay to park. There’s plenty of on-street parking available within a 10-minute walk.
It is strongly recommended for baseball fans.
Editor's Note: The Montreal Expos have relocated to Washington, D.C., and have been renamed the Washington Nationals.
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