(ATR) The IOC tells Around the Rings "we trust [Rio 2016] will deliver on their commitments" despite a Brazilian company’s intent to erect a housing complex atop land set aside for golf at the Games.
"Nothing new to report," added the IOC. "The Rio 2016 organizing committee has been keeping us updated on the progress of the golf venue."
The reassurance comes after Elmway Participacoes, the firm fighting Olympics organizers for ownership, said Thursday earlier plans to negotiate over the course will be abandoned if its ongoing court case proves successful.
Elmway "does not want to talk about building the golf course anymore," lawyer Sergio Antunes Lima Jr. told The Associated Press, adding that his client "already has another project for the land" in question.
According to a Thursday statement, Rio 2016 insists it’s "confident that all deadlines for the golf course construction will be met" despite the legal wrangling.
Lima Jr. is seeking a court order to bar any building at the site, reports the AP, a move that has so far failed in the three-plus years of this dispute.
Elmway did, however, inch a step closer to ownership last month when Brazil's Higher Court of Justice ruled that a Rio tribunal wrongly denied the company’s appeal.
"There are some final discussions between the land owner and the organizing committee, and the mayor's office that are just being finalized," International Golf Federation vice president Ty Votaw was quoted by the AP at the time, dismissing the delay.
Efforts made Friday by ATR to reach Rio 2016 and the IGF for additional comment are so far unsuccessful.
Rugby Venue Search Drags On
Rio will host golf’s first Olympics competition in 112 years. Paris and St. Louis staged tournaments at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Games.
It’s unclear where exactly rugby will make its return to the Olympics now that Rio 2016 is scrapping plans for a renovation of Vasco da Gama’s football stadium.
The so-called Estádio São Januário had been tapped by Games organizers as the potential venue, but the Clube de Regatas Vasco da Gama failed to provide the IOC and International Rugby Board with required delivery plans and financial guarantees by Wednesday’s deadline.
"Rio 2016 is now going to undertake a reassessment of the operational plans for the João Havelange Stadium, in conjunction with the IRB and the IOC, in order to ensure that rugby sevens' Olympic Games debut is both successful and memorable," reads a Thursday statement from the organizing committee.
Rio built João Havelange Stadium for the 2007 Pan American Games and will increase its capacity to 60,000 for the athletics competition at the 2016 Summer Games. Whether rugby sevens will join in remains to be seen.
"The IRB has been kept fully informed by Rio 2016 of the ongoing discussions regarding the selection of the sports venue for the Olympic Games Rugby Sevens events," said a statement from the IRB.
"The IRB will continue to work alongside Rio 2016 and the IOC to ensure the delivery of outstanding and successful rugby sevens events for teams, fans and the Olympic and rugby families."
The sport is being staged at the Olympics for the first time since Paris 1924.
Written by Matthew Grayson
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
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