'Cautious optimism ’ over Olympics

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34045, 8 January 1976, Page 3

'Cautious optimism ’ over Olympics

7 Ft -Rewer—Copariphrt 1, MONTREAL. A muddled picture 1 emerged yesterday of' Olympic stadium con-}' struction progress after the latest statements byh officials responsible for'' getting the 72,000-seatu structure built in timeij for the July 17 opening : of the 1976 summer games in Montreal. “if I were a betting man, 1 would bet we will be ready ' and on time. We are cautiously. reasonably optimis-j tic.” Mr Victor Goldbloomj said on Tuesday. But only the day before,|[ Ms Goldbioom. the Quebec,} Government Minister in charge of the project, told reporters that the chances off having the stadium completed ' in .time had risen from ‘‘zero to- 50 per cent” since his 1 Municipal Affairs Department ' took over control of financ-' 1 ing and construction from the 1 City of Montreal in late 1 November. The Minister did not sayp at the time if he thought 501

iper cent was an optimistic! i •outlook. |i At the same press confer-}: . ence. Mr Claude Rouleau, chairman of the Government-! 1 created Olympic Installations I] Board, estimated that there, 1 was a 90 per cent chance of(< ■meeting the completion timetable — provided that there" was no repetition of the!! (Strikes that have plagued theii project over the last twojl years. i Mr Goldbloom reiterated in i an interview that a postpone- < ment of the July 17 opening was not under consideration i at present despite the con- ; struction difficulties. He said that if the circum- [ stances did force a postponement, Montreal should be | given more time, if necessary. to complete the facili- . } ties, a $US564tn complex that [ includes the stadium and' swimming pool and the adja-i, !cent cycling velodrome. j ( Mr Goldbloom said that heii commented on the possibility}' of a postponement only after'] (reporters had mentioned an'< offer by Mexico, which staged i, the 1968 summer Olympics,•_ to take over the 1976 games!* • from Montreal in October. [< I “If Mexico can hold them!'

tin October, we can hold them}* in October,” the Minister!! I said. ;< Mr Goldbloom emphasised}! (that any decision to post-' (pone the games was up toh the International Olympic L {Committee. The 1.0. C. issued a state-} ment in Lausanne, Switzer-}' I land, on Tuesday that it had ! i received no requests or suggestions from the Montreal organisers for a postponement or any changes in the original plans. ; Mr Willi Daurae, of West Germany, 1.0. C. vicepresident, said in Munich that a postponement was “simply unthinkable.” The estimated cost of staging the Olympics has skyrocketed to just over SUSIOOOm, with a probable deficit of SUS6OOm. ! Many observers in Mont-! real agreed with Mr Daume’s ■ comment that a postpone-} ;ment was impossible. Tele-!. ■ vision time had been; (reserved for the games period; 1 !of July 17 to August 1 in' 1 (many parts of the world,'j tand a postponement of any; {duration would cause great; i disruption.