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IOC wants Japan's main stadium ready by January 2020
A top International Olympic Committee official has urged Japan to speed up the troubled construction of Tokyo's new national stadium for delivery by January 2020
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top International Olympic Committee official has urged Japan to speed up the troubled construction of Tokyo's new national stadium for delivery by January 2020.
That gives Japan three months less than the planned April 2020 handover. Japan's Olympic Minister Toshiaki Endo indicated that it may not be possible.
IOC vice president John Coates told reporters Tuesday in Tokyo that he asked Japan's senior Olympic officials to meet the deadline in order to run a series of tests before the Games open in August 2020.
"The stadium has to be available for ceremonies and rehearsals," Coates said. "They need to have the handover to the organizing committee by January 2020." He emphasized the timing word by word.
Endo, who was appointed to the post just two months ago, said it may be difficult to meet that target because April was already a tight deadline. He said it was a "heavy request" that he could not accept immediately.
"I cannot easily say (yes to) January 2020," Endo said. "I can only ask (contractors) to finish the construction as quickly as possible."
Coates said the IOC did not request an 80,000 capacity, the size Japan had set for the earlier design.
This design was scrapped in July following a public outcry over the 252 billion yen ($2 billion) price tag ' which was nearly double the original estimate and would have made it the most expensive sports stadium ever.
Endo said he hoped to keep the cost of the revised stadium below 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion). (**)
