IOC Urges Acceleration of Tokyo 2020 Stadium Project

TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 25: Work continues at the site of the new National stadium and the planned main site of the Tokyo 2020 summer Olympics on June 25, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. Despite heavy criticism from respected Japanese architects and a 90 billion yen price rise since Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid's design was originally selected in 2012. Japan announced in a report on June 24, that it will continue with construction but have altered the design in an attempt to cut costs. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

(ATR) Japan says a new IOC deadline to complete the 2020 Olympic stadium will be difficult to meet.

IOC Coordination Commission chair John Coates urged Tokyo 2020 leaders to accelerate the construction of the stadium during talks with Games organizers on Monday and Tuesday.

He wants it finished by January 2020, rather than April as first envisaged, to give organizers time to properly test the venue before the July 24-Aug. 9 Olympics.

"The stadium has to be available for ceremonies and rehearsals," Coates told reporters in Tokyo, according to the Associated Press. "They need to have the handover to the organizing committee by January 2020."

But Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo said he could not guarantee the stadium would be delivered by that deadline, saying the April timeframe was already "a very tight schedule."

"We can ask the contractors to push it, but we have no idea if it's doable," he was quoted by Kyodo News.

Games organizers are in a race against time to design and construct the Olympic showpiece. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe axed the original plan in July due to soaring costs – at around $2.1 billion, nearly twice original estimates, it would have been the most expensive stadium in the world.

Earlier this month, Japan approved guidelines for the new stadium, promising an affordable, athlete-friendly venue.

IOC vice president Coates told Tokyo 2020 chiefs there is no requirement for an 80,000-capacity stadium. Endo said Tuesday that he aimed to keep the stadium costs below $1.7 billion.

The international design tender is expected to go out in the next two months. Construction is slated to start in the first quarter of 2016.

Coates told Around the Rings ahead of his trip to Tokyo that the objective was to offer the IOC’s input on the new stadium design, with information from Olympic Broadcasting Services and construction experts, in a bid to accelerate the project.

While in Tokyo, the IOC member from Australia also held discussions with Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori and chief executive Toshiro Muto as well as other Olympic stakeholders.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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