Officials are "preparing a Plan B in case the main swimming venue for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics is not ready for a test event in April," according to Stephen Wade of the AP. FINA Exec Dir Cornel Marculescu said that the test event from April 15-20 "could be moved to the nearby diving venue, which also contains a 50-meter pool." In the past several months, "snags have occurred in building the venues for tennis, equestrian, and track cycling" (AP, 2/20). Meanwhile, in Australia, Nicole Jeffery reports the "challenges are mounting for the Rio Olympic organisers with reports that a vital new metro train line may not be completed in time for the Games in August." Brazilian newspaper O Globo "revealed the contents of an email" Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes sent to the IOC "in which he warned that there was an 'elevated risk' that Metro Line 4, which will connect the main Olympic park at Barra to the sports venues at Copacabana and Maracana, will not be finished in time." Paes in the email "attributed the uncertainty to a delay in releasing funds for what is described as the biggest urban infrastructure project now in progress in Brazil," expected to cost US$2.56B (THEAUSTRALIAN.com, 2/23).
ZIKA CONCERNS: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Ben Fischer writes corporate planning for the Rio Games has "become significantly more problematic as the mysterious Zika virus hammers Brazil." The health crisis has "emerged just as sponsors and hospitality providers fine-tune their plans for Rio, presenting a late-breaking X factor for companies that use the Olympics as a prime business development platform." GMR Marketing Head of Global Sports & Entertainment Consulting Jan Katzoff said, "We absolutely see this as another huge threat." Fischer notes VIP guest lists, ticket packages and marketing activations "don’t have to be finalized until mid-spring" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/22 issue).
HEALTH ISSUES: The Zika virus and its impact on Brazil also was the focus on an ESPN "OTL" report on Sunday, with ESPN Brazil’s Rubens Pozzi saying the Brazilian Olympic Committee believes the weather "can eradicate the mosquito" carrying the virus. Pozzi: "We are very worried about this situation, about this way of thinking of the government, and the Brazilian Olympic committee." Pozzi added of the polluted waters in Rio that will host some events, "What we see in Rio is that the government is waiting and waiting for something or somebody to fix the problem and the problem is huge. We saw, we need a lot of money, we need a lot of commitment of the government, of the people who live in Rio, and I believe that as we can see right now in Rio, as the roads will not be ready on time, as the subway will not be ready on time for the Olympics, the Bay probably will be clean, but clean of solid garbage. But bacteria, the risk, the dangers, it will be there for the athletes, for the tourists, and I feel very embarrassed as a Brazilian" ("OTL," ESPN, 2/21).
BEAST OR BURDEN? The AP's Paul Newberry noted four cities "for some reason" submitted bids last week to host the '24 Games, "turning in glitzy presentations." Yet, as Rio "is learning and nearly every other Olympic city has shown, it's clear the true winners of this race will be the three that lose." IOC President Thomas Bach "pushed through a cost-cutting program known as Agenda 2020." The first real test of Bach's reforms "comes next year, when the IOC picks the host" for the '24 Games. If "firmly committed to the idea of cutting costs," L.A. would seem "the most prudent choice." Nearly all of its sporting facilities "are in place, and organizers showed good sense by ditching plans for a massively expensive Olympic village." But it is "difficult to see how hosting the Olympics would benefit" L.A., or Paris, Rome or Budapest (AP, 2/19).
