(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — After working for three decades to pay off the $1.2 billion debt left behind the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, the city of Montreal looks poised to finally erase the debt with a new cigarette tax.
The debt was caused largely by massive cost overruns for facilities such as Olympic Stadium, which is known locally as “The Big Owe.”
The stadium’s last major concert was a U2 show in 1997, which sold out all 48,855 available seats.
Despite recently facing a minor setback with a $3.2 million debt left when officials at the World Swimming Championships stripped the city of the 15-day event due to financial problems, the city is actually considering a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“We’re going to take a little breather, but many people have asked that question,” Mayor Gerald Tremblay told the Associated Press. “We’re going to do an assessment to address that question. I will not exclude the possibility.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
