Japan’s sports minister recommended scrapping a retractable roof for the 2020 Olympics National Stadium, set to host the championship match for the Tokyo games.
Hakubun Shimomura recommended several changes on the 2020 Olympics National Stadium project in order to save money. Another recommended change: making 35,000 of the planned 80,000 seats temporary. Currently the stadium project’s budget is $1.42 billion. From Reuters:
Rising labor and construction costs have forced Tokyo to rethink its Olympic plans. The changes mean they will fail to meet an existing commitment that they would host a majority of Olympic events within 8km (5 miles) of the Games village.
The new National Stadium will be built on the grounds of the old, now demolished, one which was constructed to host the 1964 Olympics.
When built, it will stage the opening rugby World Cup match on Sept. 6, as well as the final on Oct. 20.