Decision on Tokyo Stadium Design Expected by Early July

(ATR) Tokyo 2020 officials says no final decision has been made on the design for Japan’s new National Stadium.

The original design has come under fire for escalating costs and construction delays, leading to speculation it may not be complete in time to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Alternate plans, however, have been labeled "unrealistic." Hakuban Shimomura, the Japanese education minister running point on the project, said this week he might consider an alternate design. Some critics say the ultra-modern Zaha Hadid design is not well-suited to the neighborhood.

The Hadid design could cost up to $2 billion, nearly twice what was originally cited.

An Education Ministry official says a switch would be difficult and a final decision is expected by early July.

"We’d heard about the other proposal, but it’s not realistic and we think it would be hard to do," the official told Reuters.

"Unless it’s a proposal we can really get behind, cancelling Zaha’s design for another one is not something we can do."

Hadid has experience with Olympic design, having conceived the aquatics center for London 2012.

Written by Nick Devlin

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