After the Olympics, 14 Stadiums in Rio de Janeiro Are Closed

02/13/2017 - 11h53

Six months after the opening of the Rio Olympic Games, 14 stadiums that were involved in the event are closed.

The majority of them don't even have a defined schedule of events.

After billions were spent to erect modern sporting installations, governmental authorities haven't yet been able to organize any sports scheduling whatsoever.

Two of the stadiums that are to be converted into schools and aquatic centers, haven't even had a public tender launched yet for dismantling their structures.

One of the biggest legacies promised to residents of the city, the Parque Radical de Deodoro (Deodoro Radical Park) serves as an example of the difficulty in maintaining these installations open.

The second largest leisure area in the city, the park closed its doors in December when a contract with the company that administered the locale ended, and there is no date set for reopening.

The slalom canoeing circuit was the primary attraction and has been transformed into a large swimming pool.

The locale was also a staging ground for BMX and mountain bike races and had been opened before the beginning of the Games after pressure was mounted by residents, who even broke into the swimming pool itself in 2015.

With the contract's termination at the end of December, the park's neighbors were left outside looking in during the summer.

City Hall, which is responsible for administering the park, says that it is working to reopen the locale as soon as possible.

Deodoro also includes five other stadiums (equestrian, hockey, marksmanship, aquatics and the Youth Arena centers), all of which have been closed since the Games.

The Army is in charge of the installations and informed that four tournaments and four training sessions are scheduled for this year.

Even so, they haven't released the dates for these competitions. The principal event scheduled is the Rio de Janeiro Judo competition.

The scene at the Olympic Park, which was the heart of the megaevent, is that of a ghost town. Without any private administrator to take care of the space which has an annual cost of around R$ 17 million (US$ 5,5 million), City Hall transferred Arenas Cariocas (Rio de Janeiro Arenas) 1 and 2, Velodrome (bicycle track) and the Tennis Center to the Sports Ministry.

The Mayor's Office is waiting for federal resources to launch two public tenders that will determine the companies responsible for dismantling the structures. There is no date set for the close of the undertaking.

	Ricardo Borges/Folhapress
	After billions were spent to erect modern sporting installations, governmental authorities haven't yet been able to organize any sports scheduling whatsoever

AGREEMENTS FOR THE OLIMPIC PARK AND DEODORO
Rio's City Hall informed that it is "working to reopen the Deodoro Radical Park as soon as possible".

On January 11th, Mayor Marcelo Crivella (PRB Party) said that the park would be reopening soon. According to Crivella, the old contract had a value of approximately R$ 20 million (US$ 6,4 million).

To reopen the Olympic Park and Deodoro stadiums, the Sports Ministry this month signed two "cooperation agreements".

One was closed with the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee), the CPB (Brazilian Paralympic Committee) and the CBC (Brazilian Clubs' Committee). The other was closed with the Army.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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