To reduce the estimated construction cost of 252B yen ($2B) and ease growing criticism, Japan PM Shinzo Abe said Friday that "the new National Stadium to be built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be redesigned from scratch," according to Reiji Yoshida of the JAPAN TIMES. Abe said, "I’ve decided to send the current plan for the new National Stadium ... back to the drawing board. I made the decision today because I’m firmly convinced that (a new stadium) will be completed by the opening of the Olympic and Paralympic Games." Abe "apparently feared a backlash from angry voters." The "estimated construction cost for the extravagant stadium" was originally 130B yen ($1B), but then it "suddenly soared" to 252B yen. Later in the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that "the government will finish drawing up a new plan for the stadium in fall, and it will include a cap on the total construction cost." The government will set a target below 200B yen ($1.6B). But a high-ranking official later said that "the government does not yet have a specific target" (JAPAN TIMES, 7/17). In London, Leo Lewis wrote besides triggering widespread public anger, soaring costs "have stirred a political battle" between the central government and Tokyo’s Governor Yoichi Masuzoe over what proportion of the bill the country and the capital would pay. The self-imposed setback, Abe added, "will mean that the new stadium will not be ready in time to host any games in the 2019 Rugby World Cup." People close to the cabinet said that the stadium decision was a calculated response to Abe’s recent dip in approval ratings, "as he pushes through divisive new laws that would expand Japan’s military powers and unpick decades of national pacifism" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/17). Also in London, Owen Gibson wrote Abe said that "he had taken the decision after being reassured that there was still time to draw up new plans and complete the new stadium, on the site of the existing national stadium." The stadium was a "key part of the bid that triumphed over Istanbul and Madrid" in '13 to win the right to host the 2020 Games (GUARDIAN, 7/17).
SURPRISE MOVE: In London, Danielle Demetriou wrote Zaha Hadid's futuristic design for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic stadium "is unexpectedly scrapped." Abe: "The Olympics are a party for our people, and they and the athletes, each one of them, are the main players. We need to make it something that they can celebrate." The announcement "was widely regarded as a surprise move," coming just one week after Abe said that it would be too late to change the design. Hadid’s futuristic proposal for Tokyo’s National Stadium "will join a growing list of famously never-built structures for the avant-garde architect, with others including Cardiff Bay Opera House." The Tokyo stadium design "was selected following an international competition in 2012" (TELEGRAPH, 7/17). CNN's Ripley & Hume wrote a spokesperson for Zaha Hadid Architects "denied that the design was to blame for cost increases." A spokesperson for World Rugby, organizers of the Rugby World Cup, said the group was "extremely disappointed" by the announcement that the stadium would not be able to host the tournament, which he said came "despite repeated assurances to the contrary." The troubled stadium project "has seen budget cuts, design revisions, demolition delays and serious cost blowouts since it was unveiled, as material and construction costs have soared." Zaha Hadid Architects Project Dir Jim Heverin said that the company's teams had worked to design a "new home for Japanese sport for the next 50 to 100 years." Heverin insisted, "It is not the case that the recently reported cost increases are due to the design, which uses standard materials and techniques well within the capability of Japanese contractors and meets the budget set by the Japan Sports Council" (CNN, 7/17).
'MONUMENTAL MISTAKE': In London, Oliver Wainwright wrote for many, the project’s cancellation "is almost two years overdue." Ever since it was unveiled in '13, the design "has faced fierce criticism from all quarters, suggesting it was doomed from the start." Japan’s most eminent architects came out "all guns blazing" when the designs were first released, organizing a symposium against the scheme which resulted in a petition calling for the project to be stopped, describing the design as a "monstrosity completely out of scale with the surrounding mixed-residential environs." The petition "was swiftly followed by a blistering assault" from Arata Isozaki, the architect of Barcelona’s Olympic stadium, who described Hadid’s project as a "monumental mistake." The opposition "went far beyond the rarified realms of the architectural community and its professional infighting." Community groups "were up in arms about the proposed destruction to be wrought on one of the few green spaces left in the city." Environmental concerns aside, there "was also mounting anger about the fact that Hadid’s supersized plans entailed evicting 300 households from the nearby Kasumigaoka apartments, as well as a handful of homeless men who sleep in the park." And there were "alternative options on the table that would have been neither as costly nor as destructive" (GUARDIAN, 7/17).
BACH CONFIDENT: The AP reported IOC President Thomas Bach "responded bluntly when asked Saturday if there's any concern that Japanese organizers may have to come up with an alternative stadium to host athletics as well as the opening and closing ceremonies." Bach: "No, no, no. I'm really sure Japan will deliver. I have no doubt" (AP, 7/18).
