Japan unable to commit to IOC’s deadline for Tokyo 2020 stadium

Reports suggested the price for the stadium had rocketed to 252billion yen (£1.3bn) and on Tuesday IOC vice president John Coates set Japan a deadline of January 2020 to deliver the arena.

A prime Worldwide Olympic Committee official has urged Japan to hurry up the troubled development of Tokyo’s new nationwide stadium for supply by January 2020. “They need to have the handover to the organizing committee by January 2020”.

“It was going to be April on a very tight schedule“, Endo was quoted as saying by Kyodo News of the planned completion date.

It was a “heavy request” he could not accept immediately, he said.

Tokyo is expected to come up with a new plan by the end of August this year.

“The stadium needs to be obtainable for ceremonies and rehearsals”, Coates stated. “I will seek wisdom from everyone so Japan can finish the construction as quickly as possible and accommodate the request” from the IOC.

This design was scrapped in July following a public outcry over the 252 billion yen ($2 billion) price ticket – which was nearly double the unique estimate and would have made it the costliest sports activities stadium ever.

The stadium issues are not the only problems to have hit preparations for the Tokyo’s second Olympics.

Dropping Hadid’s iconic design altogether, in favor of using cheaper, local designs, has raised concerns that such a plan could ruin Japan’s reputation and lead to a number of lawsuits, further tainting the Games before it has even started.

Earlier this month, Japan approved guidelines for its new Olympic stadium, vowing to build an athlete-friendly stadium as cheaply as possible.