People are already counting down the days until Taylor Swift finally brings her Eras tour to Canada late next year. When we think of Canadian concert meccas, it tends to be the major-city triangle of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal — but one is notably missing from the pop star's tour itinerary, and it turns out there's a reason why.
On Wednesday (December 13), Quebec's tourism minister Caroline Proulx revealed that Swift would be skirting Montreal because of the crumbling condition of the city's Olympic Stadium.
"Taylor Swift — we missed out on that in Quebec," Proulx told reporters, going on to say that the main reason for the Eras tour skipping Montreal was the 20,000 tears in the venue's roof that have yet to be repaired.
This presents some very unfortunate news for les Swifties Quebecois, who are missing out only because of infrastructural problems (classic hometown things!) and a lack of funding or initiative to get the stadium up to snuff. It's also a majorly lucrative missed opportunity for Montreal's local economy.
"The tourist spinoff money associated with the presence of Taylor Swift in Toronto was US $1,600 per spectator; 42,000 spectators for five days, that's $350 million that Quebec and its metropolis missed out on because we currently do not have a stadium that could put on the show," Proulx added. Likewise, Daily Hive estimated that just one of the singer-songwriter's Vancouver concerts could garner around $72 million.
Proulx didn't comment on a report in local newspaper La Presse alleging that it would cost at least $750 million to repair the roof. "Doing work on the roof is never really the sexiest thing," she said [via Global News]. "If we wait any longer, in a year or two from now, the Olympic Stadium will be completely closed."
The cabinet is slated to make its decision on the roof's potential replacement, as well as revealing the actual cost and a timeline for the repairs, in January.
The cultural phenomenon that is the $1 billion-grossing Eras tour is proving to expose many holes in cities' tourism infrastructures, with one fan having recently been quoted $3,716 for a two-night stay at a Vancouver motel for one of the concerts next year.
Swift will play three nights at BC Place on December 6, 7 and 8, as well as six nights at Toronto's Rogers Centre on November 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23.
On Wednesday (December 13), Quebec's tourism minister Caroline Proulx revealed that Swift would be skirting Montreal because of the crumbling condition of the city's Olympic Stadium.
"Taylor Swift — we missed out on that in Quebec," Proulx told reporters, going on to say that the main reason for the Eras tour skipping Montreal was the 20,000 tears in the venue's roof that have yet to be repaired.
This presents some very unfortunate news for les Swifties Quebecois, who are missing out only because of infrastructural problems (classic hometown things!) and a lack of funding or initiative to get the stadium up to snuff. It's also a majorly lucrative missed opportunity for Montreal's local economy.
"The tourist spinoff money associated with the presence of Taylor Swift in Toronto was US $1,600 per spectator; 42,000 spectators for five days, that's $350 million that Quebec and its metropolis missed out on because we currently do not have a stadium that could put on the show," Proulx added. Likewise, Daily Hive estimated that just one of the singer-songwriter's Vancouver concerts could garner around $72 million.
Proulx didn't comment on a report in local newspaper La Presse alleging that it would cost at least $750 million to repair the roof. "Doing work on the roof is never really the sexiest thing," she said [via Global News]. "If we wait any longer, in a year or two from now, the Olympic Stadium will be completely closed."
The cabinet is slated to make its decision on the roof's potential replacement, as well as revealing the actual cost and a timeline for the repairs, in January.
The cultural phenomenon that is the $1 billion-grossing Eras tour is proving to expose many holes in cities' tourism infrastructures, with one fan having recently been quoted $3,716 for a two-night stay at a Vancouver motel for one of the concerts next year.
Swift will play three nights at BC Place on December 6, 7 and 8, as well as six nights at Toronto's Rogers Centre on November 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23.
