Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes "has vowed to punish those responsible for structural defects in the showpiece venue for the 2016 Rio Games," according to XINHUA. The Joao Havelange stadium "was shut in March after an appraisal by an independent engineering firm showed the venue's roof could collapse due to structural problems." Paes said construction of the venue had been "rushed at the last minute." Paes: "I did not build this stadium but I do not want to shy away from my responsibility as mayor. Things were done in the nick of time. We will establish who is responsible, and the culprit will not go unpunished." Paes said that "the German company that conducted the stadium's appraisal, Schlaich, Bergermann und Partner (SBP), was due to submit a report with structural solutions within 30 days." But he admitted it could take longer (XINHUA, 5/10).
ITALY TO TRAIN AT JOAO HAVELANGE: BLOOMBERG's Tariq Panja reported the stadium will be used as a training venue for football's Confederations Cup this summer. Italy, Tahiti and "one of the finalists of the World Cup warmup event are slated to train at the arena." A spokesperson for the mayor's office said, “The stadium is opening only for training. There will be no access to the public for viewing and no actual matches will be played there” (BLOOMBERG, 5/10).
