1976 Montreal Olympics: Case Study of Project Management Failure
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 27, Issue 3
Abstract
A successful engineering project must include its timely and economic completion. A project management failure can lead to delays and cost overruns. One example of a project that greatly exceeded its projected budget is the construction of the multiple facilities for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. These included the Olympic Stadium, a velodrome for bicycle events, and the Olympic Village to house the athletes. This case study reviews the circumstances of the cost increases and the design decisions and other circumstances that led to them. The difficulties were brought on by an unrealistic schedule to complete the facilities before the fixed start date of the Games, combined with an unusually cavalier attitude toward project costs, exacerbated by political tensions. Although the original cost estimate for the facilities was $120 million, the final cost was $1.5 billion, with $830 million for the main stadium alone. Part of the justification for the expense of the facilities was the hope that the facilities would be useful for future athletic events—the record on this is mixed at best. The lessons learned can be applied to other projects to better control costs.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0919487. The conclusions and content are gleaned from available published materials and are not the opinions of ASCE. This case study was originally drafted by the first author as an honors thesis as part of the requirements of Cleveland State University’s undergraduate honors program. Thanks to the Olympic Park of Montréal for providing the photographs for Figs. 1, 6, and 7. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 27 • Issue 3 • June 2013
Pages: 362 - 369
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 11, 2011
Accepted: Jan 13, 2012
Published online: Jan 19, 2012
Published in print: Jun 1, 2013
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