The construction of the arenas for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is "running at full speed and the structures are starting to take shape," according to Lincoln Jr. & Barsetti of ESTADÃO. Municipal Olympic Committee (EOM) President Joaquim Monteiro de Carvalho said the tendency, though, is that none of the structures will "highlight luxury or architectural beauty." Carvalho "emphasized the necessity of the Olympic project to be 'lean' from the viewpoint of wasting public money." Carvalho: "It's a realistic project with Brazil's necessities. No one is developing the arenas to win design awards ... ." The EOM has been "trying to reach the objective of lowering the competition's costs," estimated at R$37.7B ($12B) in January. Carvalho added that one of the advantages of Rio 2016 is that 55% of the sporting installations "were ready before the city was selected as a host," referring to the Maracanã stadium and gymnasium, Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome, Riocentro convention center and João Havelange Olympic stadium (ESTADÃO, 3/24).
