This artist rendering file released by Japan Sport Council shows the new National Stadium, the main venue Tokyo plans to build for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Olympics building spree could be a welcome boon for the economy. But there are doubts over the costs and scale of some of the proposed projects, especially an 80,000-seat stadium designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid that was the centerpiece of Tokyos 2020 bid. AP FILE PHOTO
TOKYO — Japan’s Olympics organizers say they are reviewing their plans for the venues of Tokyo’s 2020 Summer Games due to concerns about cost.
Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe told a city assembly meeting Tuesday that the overall plan for the venues needs to be revised.
Yoshiro Mori, who heads Tokyo’s Olympic committee, issued a statement later saying that Masuzoe and other members of the committee were in agreement on the need to revise the plan for the venues.
The statement did not refer specifically to plans to replace Tokyo’s National Stadium with a colossal, 80,000-seat facility, the centerpiece of the city’s Olympics bid. The new stadium has caused protests over its size, cost and design.
Mori said the committee was dedicated to creating a “legacy of sports-centered and affluent, healthy living spaces.
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